St Patrick's Athletic vs Shamrock Rovers prediction, preview, team news and more

The League of Ireland is back in action with another set of matches this weekend as Shamrock Rovers take on St Patrick's Athletic on Friday. Both teams have been impressive this season and will want to win this game.

St Patrick's Athletic are in second place in the Irish Premier Division and have exceeded expectations this season. The home side suffered a 2-0 defeat against Sligo Rovers last week and will want to bounce back in this match.

Shamrock Rovers, on the other hand, edged Sligo Rovers to a 1-0 victory in their previous game and have been impressive this year. The away side is at the top of the league table at the moment and will want to win the title this season.

St Patrick's Athletic vs Shamrock Rovers Head-to-Head

Shamrock Rovers have a good record against St Patrick's Athletic and have won 28 out of 72 matches played between the two teams. St Patrick's Athletic have managed 24 victories against the Hoops and will need to step up this weekend.

The previous meeting between the two teams took place in July this year and ended in a 3-1 victory for Shamrock Rovers. St Patrick's Athletic were poor on the day and will need to win this match.

St Patrick's Athletic form guide in the League of Ireland Premier Division: L-W-L-W-W

Shamrock Rovers form guide in the League of Ireland Premier Division: W-W-L-W-W

St Patrick's Athletic vs Shamrock Rovers Team News

St Patrick's Athletic

Lee Desmond was involved in a collision on the pitch last month and remains a doubt ahead of this game. Sam Bone was sent off earlier this week and is suspended for this game.

Injured: Lee Desmond

Doubtful: None

Suspended: Sam Bone

Shamrock Rovers

Lee Grace and Neil Farrugia are injured at the moment and will likely miss out on this crucial encounter. Shamrock Rovers will need to name a strong team to win this game.

Injured: Lee Grace, Neil Farrugia

Doubtful: None

Suspended: None

St Patrick's Athletic vs Shamrock Rovers Predicted XI

St Patrick's Athletic Predicted XI (4-3-3): Vitezslav Jaros; Jak Hickman, Paddy Barrett, Shane Griffin, Ian Bermingham; Darragh Burns, Chris Forrester, Alfie Lewis; Billy King, Matty Smith, Ronan Coughlan

Shamrock Rovers Predicted XI (4-4-2): Alan Mannus; Max Murphy, Joey O’Brien, Sean Gannon, Sean Hoare; Richie Towell, Gary O’Neill, Graham Burke, Dylan Watts; Rory Gaffney, Aaron Greene

St Patrick's Athletic vs Shamrock Rovers Prediction

Shamrock Rovers are in good form at the moment and are the frontrunners to win the league title. The Hoops have been impressive in their last two games and will want to make a statement of intent this weekend.

St Patrick's Athletic can pack a punch on their day and have scored four goals in their last two league matches. Shamrock Rovers are the better team on paper, however, and should be able to win this game.

Prediction: St Patrick's Athletic 1-2 Shamrock Rovers

About the author

Aditya is a European and international football writer at Sportskeeda, covering previews, news, post-match articles and live blogs for 5 years. During his time here, he has had the privilege of covering a press meeting during the collaboration between his favorite club Bengaluru FC and Sevilla, where he got a chance to interact with Sevilla president Jose Castro and explore the grassroots development in his city.

Aditya started following the sport after being dazzled by Ronaldinho’s silky feet at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He is a Barcelona fan and unsurprisingly, his favorite manager and players are Pep Guardiola and Andres Iniesta respectively. He admires the latter for his superhuman talent and his off-pitch demeanor, and his winning goal in Spain’s 2010 World Cup final win over the Netherlands left a lasting impact on Aditya.

The match-preview specialist believes that his ongoing five-year stint at Sportskeeda has given him the ability to identify the distinct line between emotional and fact-based articles, which separates him from other journalists. For him, fact-checking is the most integral part of his writing process and he only relies on authentic platforms for data.

Aditya is a semi-professional pianist and likes to participate in concerts and recitals when not immersed in football.

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Edited by Aditya Hosangadi