Sligo Rovers vs Shamrock Rovers Prediction: The Champions to get back to winning ways

The Ireland Premier League returns after a long break and the league champions square off against Sligo Rovers at the Showgrounds. The defending champions still have a lot of tricks up their sleeves and it’s time to defend their championship. Please see the carefully prepared tips for you.

Sligo Rovers had an impressive 2022 season, securing a 5th-place finish on the league table, with St. Patrick's Athletic ahead of them by over 20 points. The team is now gearing up for its return to league action, which takes place on Sunday. Their only pre-season game was against Finn Harps and it ended in a 1-1 draw.

Aidan Keena was the team's highest scorer last season with a total of 18 goals to his name, he was also the league's top scorer last season, bagging the golden boot. The new season brings with it greater responsibilities and expectations and the boys are mentally ready for their first game of the campaign.

On Sunday, the Defending Champions of Ireland will face off against their rivals, Sligo Rovers, marking the beginning of their official campaign. The match promises to be a significant test of their strength, given the history between the two teams. The Defending Champions had a remarkable season last year, winning the championship title with a remarkable 13-point lead over their closest competitors.

Having won all their pre-season matches, including a hard-fought 1-0 win against Cliftonville, one of Northern Ireland's top teams, as well as a convincing 4-0 triumph over Bray Wanderers, the team is eagerly awaiting their first league game on Saturday. The players are raring to go and confident in their abilities.

The last time both teams met, Shamrock Rovers went home with a 1-3 victory. The last 10 games between both teams saw Shamrock Rovers win 7 games, a win for Sligo Rovers, and 2 draws. We can clearly see and establish that Shamrock Rovers have got the better of Sligo Rovers in the last ten games. It is safe to say that the champions will not kickstart their league campaign with a loss, they either win this game or draw. We can go for a win or draw for Shamrock Rovers.

Moving towards the goals options, we see that the Champions scored a total of 61 goals last season while Sligo scored 47. There have been a total of 16 goals in the last 5 games between them, Shamrock has scored a minimum of two goals in the last 5 games between them and both teams have scored at least a goal in their last 4 encounters. We predict a BTTS and for Shamrock Rovers to score a total of over 1.5 goals.