Preview: Derry City vs. Bohemians - prediction, team news, lineups

Derry, who are four points off the top of the table, will enter the match off the back of a 4-1 defeat at St Patrick's Athletic, while Bohemians were beaten 2-1 by an in-form Cork City in their last game.

Match preview

Derry have only won the League of Ireland Premier Division on two previous occasions, the last of which was in 1997, but they finished second last season, 13 points behind the champions Shamrock Rovers.

Second is the position that the Red and Whites also occupy at this stage of the season, boasting a record of 10 wins, five draws and five defeats from 20 matches to collect 35 points.

Derry are four points behind the leaders Shamrock Rovers and level on points with third-placed St Patrick's Athletic, who beat them 4-1 on Monday night.

Ruaidhri Higgins's side have only picked up one point from their last three matches during a disappointing run of form, with their last victory proving to be against basement side University College Dublin on May 19.

Derry have picked up 15 points from their 10 home league games this season, and they will be welcoming a Bohemians outfit that have the third-best away record in the division, securing 17 points from 10 matches.

Bohemians will also enter this match off the back of a disappointing result, having lost 2-1 to Cork on Monday evening, with the result ending a three-game unbeaten run in the league.

The Bohs, who are 11-time League of Ireland Premier Division champions, have picked up 33 points from their 19 matches this season to sit fourth in the table.

Declan Devine's side actually have a game in hand on each of the top three, and they are only two points behind second-placed Derry, which demonstrates the importance of this match.

Bohemians have faced Derry on 89 occasions throughout history, winning 26 and drawing 22 of those matches, in addition to suffering 41 losses, including a 1-0 defeat when the two teams last met on May 12.

Derry City League of Ireland Premier form:

W

W

W

L

D

L

Bohemians League of Ireland Premier form:

L

L

D

D

W

L

Team News

Derry will be missing two players through injury on Friday, with both Ciaron Harkin and Colm Whelan on the sidelines with muscular problems.

Central midfielder Jordan McEneff is the team's leading goalscorer this season with six, while Michael Duffy has contributed five in his 13 appearances this term.

McEneff started as a substitute against St Patrick's Athletic but should be recalled for this match, while Adam O'Reilly could also be introduced into the starting side.

Bohemians, meanwhile, will be without the services of Dylan Connolly due to a rib injury, but the visitors have not reported any fresh fitness problems.

Head coach Devine is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack following the loss at Cork, with James Akintunde again set to lead the line despite only scoring once this season.

Jordan Flores is the team's leading goalscorer this season with six, and the 27-year-old is again expected to feature at left-back for the visitors in this contest.

Derry City possible starting lineup:

Maher; Boyce, Connolly, S McEleney, Doherty; O'Reilly, McEneff; Graydon, P McEleney, Duffy; Kavanagh

Bohemians possible starting lineup:

Talbot; Benn, Nowak, Radkowski, Flores; Buckley, McDonnell; Coote, Clarke, Twardek; Akintunde

We say: Derry City 1-1 Bohemians

Both sides will enter this match off the back of disappointing results, which could create a cagey contest on Friday night. A draw would not be the worst result for either side at this stage of the season, and we are expecting the points to be shared in a close game.

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