Irish Premier Division rivals Sligo Rovers host St. Patrick’s Athletic on Saturday in a battle of the league’s sixth-place and fifth-place teams, respectively.
St. Patrick’s Athletic head into the fixture following a 1-1 draw against Cork City. The Dublin-based club has been in good form going undefeated in four of their last five matches. Three of those fixtures ended in draws as St. Patrick’s Athletic have failed to turn matches into victories.
Sligo Rovers go into the weekend having lost 4-0 to Dundalk in their last match. The defeat ended a brilliant five-match unbeaten run. During that winning run, Sligo Rovers outscored their opponents 9-6.
Manager Liam Buckley’s Sligo Rovers have struggled in front of goal this term. The club has registered just 18 goals scored while conceding 25. Eight times in 19 matches this season, Sligo Rovers have been held to clean sheets by their opponents.
St. Patrick’s Athletic manager Harry Kenny has watched his players equally struggle in the final third. The Dublin team has scored just 16 goals this term. The good news for Kenny is his defence has prevented opponents from scoring.
St. Patrick’s Athletic have allowed just 18 scores. It is the fourth fewest goals allowed by a team in the Irish Premier Division. Seven times this season, St. Patrick’s Athletic have kept clean sheets against their opponents.
Sligo Rovers have played St. Patrick’s Athletic twice already this season. Kenny’s St. Patrick’s Athletic have claimed two wins against their rival. The Dublin team won 1-0 away in February before winning again at home 2-1 in April.
The first match between Sligo Rovers and St. Patrick’s Athletic went down to the final minutes. St. Patrick’s Athletic striker Michael Drennan scored a 90th minute goal to fire his team to victory. Drennan has tallied six goals in 2019.
Their second match saw St. Patrick’s Athletic race out to a 2-0 halftime lead thanks to Chris Forrester and a penalty from Drennan. Sligo Rovers player David Cowley pulled a goal back in the 89th minute to make the game look far closer than it actually was.
Five of the last six matches between Sligo Rovers and St. Patrick’s Athletic have seen clean sheets. These two sides play very low-scoring matches and Saturday’s clash at Showgrounds should see a premium on goals.
Sligo Rovers and St. Patrick’s Athletic should finish with under 2.5 goals scored as they both draw for a league leading seventh time this season.