Preview: St Patrick's Athletic vs Drogheda United - prediction, team news, lineups

St Patrick's play host to Drogheda United on Friday night looking to strengthen their hold of a top-three place in the League of Ireland Premier Division table.

Meanwhile, the visitors to Richmond Park sit in eighth position in the standings, two points above the relegation zone.

Match preview

After finishing fifth - their lowest position since 2020 - last season, St Patrick's Athletic are motivated to return to European football in 2027 by ending the campaign in the top three.

Although Stephen Kenny's side sit in third place with 32 points from 19 matches, a poor run of form has allowed Shamrock Rovers to storm clear at the top.

Just one win has been recorded in six games, that being a 4-1 victory over bottom-placed Waterford on May 8.

St Patrick's have since only picked up one point from three fixtures, most recently suffering a 1-0 defeat at Shamrock Rovers in a game that could prove pivotal come the end of the season.

Perhaps most concerningly for Kenny, St Patrick's have now failed to score in three games. However, they still possess the joint-best attacking return in the division.

Like in previous years, Drogheda are doing just enough to keep them outside of the bottom two, but Kevin Doherty will acknowledge that his squad must improve across the second half of the campaign.

Despite a run of three victories from four outings since being April 24 and May 8, they have since accumulated just two points from their last four encounters.

Two of those contests have been against bottom-placed Waterford, who recorded their only success of the campaign with a 2-1 home triumph on May 18.

Last time out, Drogheda had the chance for revenge at Sullivan & Lambe Park. In a remarkable game, Waterford were 2-0 ahead after 21 minutes, only to find themselves 3-2 behind after 69 minutes.

However, they found an equaliser with four minutes remaining, earning a draw that keeps Drogheda within two points of ninth-placed Sligo Rovers in the promotion/relegation playoff spot.

St Patrick's Athletic League of Ireland Premier form:

Drogheda United League of Ireland Premier form:

Team News

© Iconsport

Despite defeat to Shamrock last time out, Kenny may be against making many changes to his St Patrick's Athletic XI.

Top goalscorer Aidan Keena could be drafted back into the attack as a replacement for Ryan Edmondson as Kenny searches for a solution in the final third.

Jason McClelland, who has four assists, is also an option on the left flank ahead of Zack Elbouzedi.

Meanwhile, Drogheda duo Leo Burney and Ryan Brennan are both serving one-match suspensions for yellow card accumulation.

Calum Donnelly could feature in central defence, while Jago Godden will likely be recalled in midfield.

St Patrick's Athletic possible starting lineup:

Anang; Turner, Hoare, Redmond; Brown, Lennon, Baggley, McClelland; Leavy, Palmer; Keena

Drogheda United possible starting lineup:

Talley; Agbaje, Quinn, Donnelly, Kane; Farrell, Godden; Oluwa, O'Brien, Kavanagh; Doyle

We say: St Patrick's Athletic 2-1 Drogheda United

Although St Patrick's hold the joint-best defensive record in the division, we cannot ignore that the visitors have a handy attacking return despite their lowly position. That could make for a competitive game at Richmond Park, but the home side should come through with maximum points come full time.

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