Shelbourne FC vs Derry City FC Prediction: The biggest League of Ireland game of the week

In the 26th round of the League of Ireland Premiership, league leaders Shelbourne will welcome Derry City to Tolka Park. Shelbourne continues to stand strong in the league table while Derry City continues to play catch up with a 3-point gap between Derry and the league leaders, Shelbourne. The last time these two teams met, the game ended in a 1-1 draw and we predict goals from both teams here. Please see the carefully prepared tips.

Form: LWWWW

Derry City is in sensational form but their 6-game unbeaten league run came to an end at the hands of Sligo Rovers in their last league game early last month. Derry City have since competed in the Uefa Conference league qualifiers where they were knocked out by Bruno Magpies bringing an end to their Europe dreams next season. Derry City is trailing league leaders Shelbourne by just 3 points and this is an opportunity for them to level Shelbourne on points. 

Parick Hoban remains the man for Derry City this season with a total of 12 goals. Their overall league statistics are impressive with 12 victories, 5 losses, and 8 draws from a total of 25 games played. Derry must secure a win here.

Form: DWWWL

Shelbourne has now lost only a single game in their last 12 league games as Shelbourne continues to wax stronger in their pursuit of a top flight in the League this season. Will Jarvis continues to impress for Shelbourne as he has now scored 8 goals for Shelbourne this season. Shelbourne’s hope for playing in Europe next season was dashed as they lost 3-0 to Zurich on aggregate. 

They are still top of the League with a slim 3-points between them and their closest rivals Derry City, and a defeat in this game to Derry City could prove costly to Shelbourne. Shelbourne will aim for victory in this game and their overall league records are 13 wins, 8 draws, and 3 losses from a total of 24 league games.

The last 20 clashes between them produced 10 wins for Derry City, 2 wins for Shelbourne, and 8 draws.

Derry City has always gotten the better of Shelbourne as we can see in the analyzed head-to-head statistics above. However, we expect a different dynamic in this game as Shelbourne is on a different level this season maintaining their position at the top of the league table. It is also important to note that both teams have already met twice this season and both games ended in a stalemate. We could also be seeing another draw on Monday. Our prediction is for both teams to find the net or a full-time draw. The corner option is also a good betting choice.