A key battle at the bottom end of the League of Ireland Premier Division table will take place at United Park on Friday, as Drogheda United entertain Bohemians.
The hosts remain at the foot of the division but narrowed the gap to ninth-placed Dundalk and their eighth-placed visitors with a crucial victory last time out.
Match preview
Drogheda United return to action on Friday aiming to further narrow their gap to safety in the League of Ireland Premier Division, having made a return to winning ways last time out in what has been a tricky campaign.
Following a seventh-placed finish last time around, the Drogs have remained around the foot of the division for the entirety of the campaign thus far, and a 10-game winless streak which produced just two points left them five points off ninth spot and nine adrift of automatic safety after 24 outings.
That rut culminated in a harmful 4-2 defeat away at ninth-placed Dundalk in mid-July, and after avenging that loss with a 2-1 home victory over the same opposition in the FAI Cup second round thanks to goals from James Bolger and Warren Davis, Kevin Doherty's side hosted Waterford United last Friday and picked up a vital three-point haul.
Frantz Pierrot put the Drogs ahead in the first 15 minutes, and after they stood strong throughout the contest against the third-placed visitors, Adam Foley put the game out of sight in the dying embers with his side's second.
While they remain in the only automatic relegation place, that victory has seen Drogheda United narrow the gap to Dundalk back to four points and their deficit up to Friday's visitors to seven, and following a 1-1 draw in a friendly with Walsall which ended in a triumphant penalty shootout in midweek, they will bid to make it back-to-back triumphs to move closer to safety.
Their opponents, meanwhile, will set out to end their own rut on Friday and extend their lead over the bottom two.
Following three straight victories in mid-April, Bohemians sat on 19 points from 11 outings, but they have since dropped into the fight at the bottom end of the division as a result of a dismal run of form.
From their last 12 outings, the Bohs have added just one more victory and eight points to their tally and now find themselves winless in seven league games since mid-May, having most recently headed into an important home meeting with ninth-placed Dundalk on the back of a 2-0 defeat to Sligo Rovers and a 1-0 FAI Cup triumph over Shamrock Rovers.
Alan Reynolds's side took an early lead in that game through Ross Tierney, but they were quickly pegged back by a Daryl Horgan leveller and had to settle for a somewhat disappointing point in a 1-1 draw.
While their fast start has given them an advantage in the fight for survival, Bohemians do now only lead the relegation playoff place by four points and the basement team by seven, and they will be desperate to increase their cushion and end the rut on Friday.
Team News
Drogheda United may be unchanged from last week's 2-0 victory over Waterford United, with Aaron McNally, Zishim Bawa and key midfielder Gary Deegan all set to remain sidelined by injuries.
Adam Foley does have a claim to come in from the outset, though, after coming off the bench to net his sixth goal of the season in that game, and the veteran could displace Ryan Brennan on the right-hand side of their 4-2-3-1 shape.
Frantz Pierrot, who also moved onto six goals for the campaign against Waterford, will continue to lead their line, while David Webster, Luke Heeney and Douglas James-Taylor could again get the nod in midfield despite competition from Darragh Markey.
James Akintunde will fight to return to the Bohemians attack from the start on Friday, having settled for a substitute appearance last time out with a team-joint-high tally of five goals for the season on the board thus far.
Alex Greive should again lead the line in search of a first goal for the club following his recent arrival from St Mirren, while Dayle Rooney will continue on the wing in their 3-4-3 shape having also netted five goals so far this term.
Jordan Flores and Ross Tierney remain key men and will continue their partnership in the midfield, while Cian Byrne, Leigh Kavanagh and Paddy Kirk should line up in an unaltered back three.
Drogheda United possible starting lineup:
Dennison; Ahui, Quinn, Bolger, Kane; Webster, Heeney; Foley, James-Taylor, Farrell; Pierrot
Bohemians possible starting lineup:
Chorazka; Byrne, Kavanagh, Kirk; Miller, Tierney, Flores, McDonnell; Rooney, Greive, Akintunde
We say: Drogheda United 2-1 Bohemians
Friday's meeting promises to be a hard-fought one with plenty on the line at the bottom end of Ireland's top flight.
With renewed confidence from their return to winning ways last time out, we back the basement side to narrow the gap further with another triumph on home turf.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Sam Varley
