Derry begin life on road against champions

Derry City play their first league match away from home this season against champions Shamrock Rovers as two of the big SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division title contenders clash at Tallaght Stadium.

Derry were tipped to offer the biggest challenge to the dominant Hoops before the start of the season.

Whether that materialises remains to be seen as both sides have struggled for consistency in the very early days.

The Candystripes played four home games to start the year and conceded first in every one.

Late goals ended up yielding two wins and a draw, a return Tiernan Lynch can be pleased with given good performances were hard to find.

Shamrock Rovers have a weather-disrupted opening to the year. A late concession to Dundalk and last week's derby defeat to Bohemians will certainly have irked Stephen Bradley.

But they have proven time and again their peak arrives later in the year, with the knowledge they could once again be playing into December with European football in mind.

It sets up a fascinating encounter tonight with a reaction the home side likely and the possibility Derry may improve for being away from their poor surface in the Ryan McBride Brandywell.

Bradley is eager to use last week’s defeat to get more from his squad: "It’s up to us as a staff to understand it and not just pretend we don’t like losing games. When you lose, you really have to understand what happened, try and make it right and learn from it and be better for it.

"It's really important as a group and this group is brilliant at it, understanding it and moving on, whether we win, lose or draw. Football and life waits for nobody so you have to be ready to go."

The Hoops supremo is expecting a high-quality affair: "They’ve done well, I know they’ve all been at home, but they’ve won games which would be their aim. When you have players of Michael Duffy’s quality, you always have a chance of winning games. It will be a good game tonight, two good teams with a lot of good players on the pitch."

Rory Gaffney is set for a "few" more weeks on the sideline according to Bradley, as is Max Kovalevskis.

Bohemians are leading the way in the division having now beaten both City and Shamrock Rovers.

They travel to Waterford with the chance to move further clear of those sides early on.

The Blues have yet to pick up a victory under new boss Jon Daly despite some encouraging signs. They twice took the lead in Derry last week and will be happy to be back on home soil this evening.

Daly said: "There was a lot to take from last Friday night [in Derry]. We have to look at the negatives also too – when you go 2-0 up you have to manage the game better and we have to come away from the game with something regardless of the team or venue.

"Bohemians have started the season really well, but we’ve analysed them and looked at ways where we can hurt them. We’re aware of where they can open us up, and we know it will be a tough game, but it’s one where we’re excited to get back to the RSC and get that first win."

Finlay Armstrong remains absent through injury, whilst Arlo Doherty continues his recovery from his hamstring injury picked up prior to the start of the season.

Will Johnson and Jordan Houston are continuing to build up their fitness, having signed for the Blues before the end of the Winter transfer window.

Shelbourne and St Patrick’s Athletic go into their meeting in Tolka Park in much better fettle after victories last week.

The Saints made it two from two thanks a late Kian Leavy strike on Monday against Galway United while Shels came from behind to beat Drogheda.

Reds boss Joey O’Brien is expecting the match to show just how much talent is within their respective squads: "St Pats are a really good side. They’re dangerous on the attack and have real quality across the pitch. It’ll be a great game, this is what the league is all about.

"A Dublin derby under the lights at Tolka is always exciting. I expect both sets of fans to be right up for it."

O’Brien confirmed he has a number of injury concerns without going into detail.

Away from the teams expected to content the top honours, the meeting of Galway United and Dundalk at Eamonn Deacy Park will also tell us plenty.

The Tribesmen secured their first three points of the season against Sligo Rovers and were unfortunate to go down to defeat in Inchicore.

New signing Frantz Pierrot has arrived in Galway but it is not clear if he is ready to figure.

Attack is clearly a problem for United with Stephen Walsh substituted early on in Inchicore and Francely Lomboto making little impact in terms of shots towards goal.

Dundalk were brought back down to earth against the Saints after some impressive results so far.

Ciaran Kilduff will be eager to see his side get a first victory of the campaign.

Kilduff is hoping his players bounce back from shipping four goals:

"We are hoping to react positively to a disappointing night last Friday in Inchicore. The lads are really hungry and have put in a good week of training. Everybody has reflected on that performance, but we have to remember that we have had a good start to the season with some excellent performances.

"We know that we are not going to get anything easy. However, while we respect all other teams that we face, we won’t be going to Galway with any fear. We are putting our best foot forward and are hopeful of a positive result. There is a lot of motivation within the squad to put things right after last week. Hopefully we can make a good account of ourselves and produce a good performance."

Mayowa Animasahun will miss another two weeks while Vinnie Leonard is doubtful because of illness.

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