The reigning champions are far away from the top spot in the Irish premier division, and after only 15 rounds it is almost certain that they are not going to defend their title. They will need the miracle to catch up 16 points lead that Cork City has. The only thing they can hope for in this campaign, is to secure the spot that leads to European competitions and so far they are doing that very good. Meanwhile, Derry City also has a plan to finish among the top three clubs and to secure some international games during the next season.
This game will be the derby of the 15th round of the Ireland Premier League, because we are going to see the encounter between the 2nd and 4th in the standings.
Dundalk
The hosts in this match have 7 victories and 3 defeats in the last 10 games overall. They are heading into this game after two consecutive wins in which they haven't conceded, scoring 7 goals combined. When looking their home performances, they are very convincing this season, and they have 6 victories and only one defeat. In their last 5 matches, we saw over 2.5 goals each time. Slowly Dundalk is improving their form, and their primary weapon is Darius MacMillan, the top scorer in the Irish Premier League during the last season.
Derry City
The visitors didn't suffer a loss in the last 7 games, and someone would say that they are in the perfect shape. But the things are not like that. From those 7 matches in which they haven't lost, only 2 were victories, and the rest five were draws.
On 7 occasions from the last 9 fixtures when they played, we saw under 2.5 goals. This particular encounter will be the perfect test for them to see, can they reached the European competitions zone. They are only 4 points behind Dundalk and two points behind Bray Wanderers, on the 2nd and 3rd place.
Head to head
After 9 straight games without a victory against Dundalk, Derry City finally managed to put down a win in the first part of the season. At their Brandywell Stadium, they won 3-1 and snapped one frustrating run. Prior to this game, they had 7 defeats and only 2 draws.
Injuries and suspensions
Dundalk
-Shane Grimes Out
-Derry City
-Aaron Barry Out
Top 3
Dundalk
-David McMillan 10 games 6 goals 0 assists
-Patrick McEleney 11 games 4 goals 0 assists
-Ciarбn Kilduff 10 games 3 goals 0 assists
Derry City
-Barry McNamee 11 games 5 goals 0 assists
-Aaron McEnuff 11 games 4 goals 0 assists
-Nathan Boyle 12 games 3 goals 0 assists
Prediction
The home side is closer to grab all three points tonight, And based on the recent form and the performances we think that we are going to see over 2.5 goals tonight, because the home team will for sure impose their tempo. Also, we believe that home team to win and over 2.5 goals is a good combination and needs to be tried.
Final outcome: Home Win
Final outcome: Home Win and Over 2.5 Goals
