St Patrick’s Athletic vs Derry City Prediction: Can Derry City kick off the season with a win?

The Ireland Premier League returns after a long break and St Patrick will welcome Derry City to Richmond park for their opening game of the season. Derry City had an amazing run last season and will hope to kickstart the new season in grand style.

St Patrick’s Athletic

In 2022, St Patrick's Athletic had a successful season, finishing in 4th place in the league table, with only a 5-point difference from Dundalk. As the hosts return to league action, the team is still under the leadership of Thomas Clancy, who has been guiding them through their recent accomplishments.

Doyle was the team's highest scorer last season with a total of 14 goals to his name, he was the second highest goal scorer in the league last season with 4 goals behind Keena. The new season is here and the boys cannot wait to get on the pitch and score their first goal of the campaign.

Derry City

Last season, Derry City had a remarkable performance in the league, finishing second and earning automatic qualification for the UEFA Conference League as a result of their impressive feat. Their league run was nothing short of amazing and the team had much to be proud of.

Under the guidance of Ruaidhri Higgins, the team is eager to return to league action and make their presence felt in the new season. Jamie McGonigle proved to be a key player for the team last season, being their top scorer with eleven goals. As the team gears up for the first game of the season, the question remains whether Jamie McGonigle will be able to score a goal and continue his impressive performance.

Expert Betting Tips

In the previous encounter between the two teams, Derry City emerged victorious with a 0-1 win. Looking back at the last ten meetings between the teams, Derry City has secured five wins, while Patrick's Athletic has won two, and three matches ended in draws. From a thorough analysis of their head-to-head record, it is evident that Derry City has had more success against Patrick's Athletic. However, with a new season underway, both teams are eager to showcase their abilities and make their mark. Based on the above, we predict that Derry City is likely to secure a win or a draw in the upcoming match.

A pattern we have also established is that there are few goals each time these teams meet. Their last 3 encounters provided 4 goals at an average of 1 goal per game. Leveraging on that we can go for the under 2.5 goals scored at 1.70 odds.