Friday, June 27

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Sports Mole previews Friday's League of Ireland Premier clash between Cork City and St Patrick's Athletic, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

With both sides clinging on to hope in the League of Ireland's Premier Division, relegation-threatened Cork City are set to host European hopefuls St Patrick's Athletic at Turner's Cross on Friday.

City will be aiming to avoid defeat in consecutive matches for the first time in almost two months, while Saints will be looking to end a disastrous three-game losing streak this week.

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Match preview

Gerard Nash's Cork are at serious risk of demotion after taking just two points from their last eight matches, and they will be desperate to avoid falling further behind their rivals with another loss.

On Monday, City came from behind in dramatic fashion to rescue a point in a 1-1 draw with Drogheda United thanks to a 96th-minute equaliser from Djenairo Daniels that cancelled out Shane Farrell's 12th-minute opener.

That stalemate brought Nash's side to 14 points for the season, but given that ninth-placed Sligo Rovers won last time out, they are now rooted to the foot of the table and four points behind the Bit O' Red, who occupy the division's relegation playoff spot.

As they scramble to get back within reach of a shot at safety, the hosts will draw confidence from the fact that they have only lost two of their six most recent clashes at Turner's Cross, drawing three and winning the other, and though their record on their own turf is not particularly strong, it is significantly better than their overall form.

Taking maximum points for just the third time in 2024-25 would be enough to bring Cork to within one point of Sligo, though a more likely 12th defeat could see them fall a problematic seven points behind.

Meanwhile, Stephen Kenny's St Patrick's have faltered from their strong position in the race for Europe with three straight losses, and after winning just once across their last seven fixtures, they will be hoping to regain stability with a victory against the league's bottom club.

Earlier this week, Saints followed up their frustrating 3-1 defeat on the road to Galway United with another against Derry City, who weathered the storm to hold on for a 1-0 win.

Dropping nine points across their last three matches has left Kenny's men sixth, and their tally of 30 has them five behind third-placed Drogheda and the spots for entry into the Conference League qualifiers.

To be fair to St Patrick's, it could be argued that they have been incredibly unlucky in recent weeks considering that Derry shot-stopper Brian Maher made six saves on Monday, Galway goalkeeper Evan Watts made 10 in the match prior, and Shelbourne's number one Conor Kearns made six last week, with all three putting in man-of-the-match displays.

Regardless, with the aim of getting back on track before sliding further down the table, the visitors will need to defy their dire travelling record that features one solitary win to go alongside five defeats since April, knowing that another loss could see them fall down to seventh.

Cork City League of Ireland Premier form:

St Patrick's Athletic League of Ireland Premier form:

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Team News

Cork will be without left wing-back Benny Couto once again due to an ankle injury that has kept him out since April, so expect to see Matthew Kiernan start in his place.

In the forward line, Nash should opt for a strike partnership of Djenairo Daniels and Seani Maguire, as left-winger Conor Drinan works his way back from the knee injury that has sidelined him for over nine months, and centre-forward Ruairi Keating recovers from an Achilles injury.

As for St Patrick's, centre-backs Sean Hoare and Joe Redmond are suspended for accumulating yellow cards, and Kenny will likely start Tom Grivosti and Luke Turner at the heart of his defence as a result.

Elsewhere, midfielder Romal Palmer remains out with a major hamstring injury, so Barry Baggley should be joined by Jamie Lennon in a double pivot, while Brandon Kavanagh operates behind 17-year-old striker Mason Melia.

Out wide, Zachary Elbouzedi and Simon Power should continue their link-up with the young talisman, and Axel Sjoberg and Jason McClelland will provide overlapping runs from full-back.

Cork City possible starting lineup:

Troost; Mbeng, Crowley, Anderson, Lyons, Kiernan; Murray, Bolger, Nelson; Maguire, Daniels

St Patrick's Athletic possible starting lineup:

Anang; Sjoberg, Turner, Grivosti, McClelland; Baggley, Lennon; Elbouzedi, Kavanagh, Power; Melia

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

 

Cork may be struggling at the foot of the table, but their home record suggests that they could put up a fight this week.

That being said, while St Patrick's have been poor on the road, they have only been stopped by a number of standout goalkeeping performances in recent weeks, and they may finally make the most of their excellent chance creation on Friday.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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