Preview: St Patrick’s Athletic vs. University College Dublin
After losing just one of their last seven matches, St Patrick’s Athletic will attempt to continue their fine run of form when they play host to University College Dublin on Friday.
The visitors, meanwhile, have been cut adrift at the bottom of the League of Ireland Premier Division table, but they have the chance to claim consecutive victories after beating Sligo Rovers last time out.
St Patrick’s saw their four-game winning run come to an end with a 2-1 defeat to Drogheda United earlier this month.
Although they have managed to avoid defeat in their last two games, the Saints would have been frustrated to drop two points in their most recent outing against Dundalk.
Conor Carty opened the scoring in the 33rd minute, and his side looked to be in complete control when Dundalk were reduced to 10 men, but a late equaliser ensured that Jon Daly’s side had to settle for a point.
After playing out a 1-1 draw on the road, third-placed St Patrick’s will now return to home surroundings where they have recorded four consecutive victories.
In fact, they have the second-best home record in the top flight after picking up 22 points from their 11 home matches.
As for the visitors, they are languishing at the bottom of the league table after mustering just nine points from 21 games.
UCD are currently 12 points adrift of the relegation playoff spot, and as a result, they have a mountain to climb in their final 15 games if they are going to beat the drop this season.
Their hopes of mounting a great escape received a boost in their most recent outing, as UCD edged out Sligo Rovers by a 2-1 scoreline to end a 10-game winless run.
After claiming three precious points, the Students will now be looking to record consecutive top-flight victories for the first time since October 2014.
They are also aiming to collect their first away win of the season, after drawing one and losing 10 of their 11 away league matches.
St Patrick’s Athletic League of Ireland Premier form:
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University College Dublin League of Ireland Premier form:
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We say: St Patrick’s Athletic 3-0 University College Dublin
St Patrick’s have won their last six meetings with UCD, including a 3-1 victory when the two sides faced off earlier this month.
Although the visitors would have taken confidence from their win over Sligo, we think that they will fall to another away defeat after losing 10 of their 11 away league matches this season.