St Patrick's Athletic play host to Cork City on Friday evening looking to strengthen their hold of a top-three spot in the League of Ireland Premier Division table.

Meanwhile, the visitors to Richmond Park find themselves in the relegation zone, albeit by just two points, but defeat would leave them at risk of being cut adrift in the battle to avoid the drop.

Match preview

Having only finished in fourth place last season, St Patrick's will be delighted to currently occupy second spot and be nearest challengers to Shamrock Rovers.

Nevertheless, Jon Daly will feel that his side have missed opportunities to be closer than four points adrift having failed to beat either of Drogheda United or Dundalk, clubs who are eighth and fourth respectively.

That particularly stands for the former, St Patrick's going down by a 2-1 scoreline, but they were able to let out a bit of frustration in thrashing bottom-placed University College Dublin last time out.

After a penalty and own goal put them two goals ahead at half time, Athletic scored a further five goals after the break to run out 7-0 winners.

St Patrick's have now won five home games in succession, and their seven-goal haul versus UCD moved them one strike short of matching leaders Shamrock for the best attacking record this season.

From Cork's perspective, they have generally endured an abysmal campaign since earning a return to the top flight having been cut adrift in the bottom two as recently as the middle of May.

Remarkably though, Cork followed a run of six defeats in a row with a four-match winning streak, with each of those victories by one-goal margins in a real show of character.

A three-game winless run has followed, yet interim boss Liam Buckley will be encouraged by the 1-1 comeback draw against rivals Drogheda United on June 30.

Facing St Patrick's after their seven-goal win last time out has arguably come at the wrong time for Cork, although they did push their upcoming opponents all the way in a 3-2 defeat in May.

Team News

Four of the seven strikes against UCD came from substitutes, with Tom Lonergan's double off the bench theoretically putting him in contention for a start.

Nevertheless, barring any injury issues, Daly may insist on selecting the same St Patrick's side, with many players being well rested after five were withdrawn before the 74-minute mark last time out.

Buckley acted by making a triple substitution after 59 minutes versus Drogheda, yet it did not change the end result with a share of the spoils remaining in tact.

The interim Cork boss must now decide whether to use any of Barry Coffey, Cian Bargary or Cian Murphy from the opening whistle, the former arguably most likely to be drafted into midfield.

However, Joe O'Brien Whitmarsh should keep his place in the centre of the pitch having netted his third goal of the season in that contest.

St Patrick's Athletic possible starting lineup:
Lyness; Curtis, McGrath, Lewis, Breslin; McCormack, Lennon, Forrester; Mulraney, Carty, Doyle

Cork City possible starting lineup:
Corcoran; Custovic, Gilchrist, Coleman; Walker, O'Brien-Whitmarsh, Bolger, Healy, O'Donovan; Keating, Owolabi

We say: St Patrick's Athletic 3-1 Cork City

Possessing the best attacking record in the bottom half of the table, Cork should not necessarily be ruled out of claiming something from this fixture. Nevertheless, despite their issues in defence, we still see St Patrick's eventually running away with this contest.

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