Thursday, July 3

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

Fighting to gain ground in the League of Ireland Premier Division's race for Europe, St Patrick's Athletic will welcome Bohemians to Richmond Park on Friday.

Saints will be looking for a long-awaited victory this week, while Bohs will be hoping to get back to winning ways after their draw last time out.

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Match preview

Stephen Kenny's St Patrick's have fallen away from the top three over the past two months, and having dropped 13 points in June, they are now on a five-game winless run ahead of this clash.

Last Friday, Saints were disappointingly held to a 0-0 stalemate against bottom club Cork City, a particularly shocking result given that it was the demotion favourites' first clean sheet of the season.

That draw left Kenny's side sixth in the table with 31 points, a comfortable 12 above Sligo Rovers in the relegation playoff spot, but six behind their third-placed opponents and second-placed Derry City.

As they hope to claw their way back into contention for the Conference League, the hosts will be concerned by the fact that they have lost consecutive matches at Richmond Park leading up to this game, especially considering that they were previously unbeaten at home for a full calendar year.

Should St Patrick's earn their ninth victory of the campaign - and their first since May - then they could climb up to fifth, leapfrogging Shelbourne to move within three points of the top three in a best-case scenario. 

Meanwhile, Alan Reynolds's Bohemians have risen through the ranks after a strong run of form that features just one defeat from their last five matches.

Bohs saw out June by following up their 2-0 win over league leaders Shamrock Rovers with a frustrating 1-1 draw against relegation-threatened Sligo.

Dropping two points last week saw Reynolds's men slip down to third on goal difference, where their tally of 37 has them just two ahead of fourth-placed Drogheda United.

However, with four wins from their last six on the road, the visitors will be confident of retaining their European spot this week, though having seen their team lose two of their three most recent away games, fans would be forgiven for harbouring doubts.

Anything but maximum points on Friday could see Bohemians overtaken by the Drogs depending on the goal-difference swing, but another win may help them reclaim second. 

St Patrick's Athletic League of Ireland Premier form:

Bohemians League of Ireland Premier form:

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Team News

St Patrick's will be without midfielder Romal Palmer once again due to a hamstring injury, so Jamie Lennon and Barry Baggley should start in a double pivot, while Brandon Kavanagh operates behind the forwards.

In the frontline, Zachary Elbouzedi would be typically be joined by Simon Power, but after the latter picked up an injury against Cork, Jake Mulraney could be supporting striker Mason Melia instead.

As for Bohemians, they are sporting a lengthy list of absentees for Friday's clash, including centre-back Alex Lacey and midfielder Archie Meekison.

Reynolds will also have to cope without winger Dayle Rooney, who is suspended for accumulating yellow cards, and Rhys Brennan could make the XI in his place.

St Patrick's Athletic possible starting lineup:

Anang; Sjoberg, Redmond, Hoare, McClelland; Lennon, Baggley; Elbouzedi, Kavangh, Mulraney; Melia

Bohemians possible starting lineup:

Chorazka; Morahan, Cornwall, Flores, Mountney; Devoy, McDonnell; Brennan, Clarke, Tierney; Whelan

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We say: St Patrick's Athletic 1-1 Bohemians

 

St Patrick's may be in poor form at the moment, but they will be expecting to avoid a third straight home defeat this week.

That being said, Bohemians are likely to pose a significant threat given that they have won four of their last six away games.

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

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