Third meets sixth in the League of Ireland Premier Division as Bohemian welcome Derry City to Dalymount Park this Friday night with the two clubs coming off the back of contrasting fixtures last weekend just after the midway point in this league.
The recent results at the weekend are in line with the run in the league so far from either side, with there now being 11 points that separate the two in Ireland's top flight.
The European games are so close! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/c7tGD57UZI— Derry City FC (@derrycityfc) June 30, 2022
The European games are so close! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/c7tGD57UZI
Bohemian are down in sixth after 20 games, and although this sees them with a game in hand over fifth-placed Sligo Rovers, and two games in hand over St Patrick's Athletic, they may still be sixth in a few weeks’ time.
Winning both games in hand for Bohemian would push them onto level points with both the aforementioned teams, but their poor goals difference throws them further away from the top four as they would have hoped for at this stage in the season.
In fact, the club enters this game with the perfect 50-50 record in the League of Ireland Premier Division.
Keith Long's men have now lost six games and won six after beating Shelbourne 1-0 shortly after the international break, before they lost 1-0 to the league leaders, Shamrock Rovers.
What’s more, this puts the club on 25 goals scored and the same amount conceded after 20 games, and against the league's second-highest scores, Derry, they could be in trouble here.
Following a 1-0 win over UCD the club are now on an unbeaten run stretching four games since they lost 2-1 to Sligo Rovers. Draws with Finn Harps and Drogheda United were underwhelming results, but with victories over UCD and Cliftonville in the past five games, they sit third in the league and just a point off Dundalk.
They have played a game more than Dundalk, however, which doesn’t bode well in the long run, although Derry also have two fixtures extra to play in the league over Shamrock which if they win will at least bring them within five points of the league leaders and subsequently potentially reignite their title hopes.
These two last met just under two months ago, in what was a game dominated by Derry on the stats board with seven more efforts towards goal and 63% of the ball.
However, after Promise Omochere took the lead for Bohemians in the 15th minute, Will Patching equalised from the spot for Derry in a 1-1 draw.
Forebet predicts a draw here and for the game to see under 2.5 goals.