Derry City vs St Patrick's Athl. Prediction

Recent form has been decent for both

St Pat's have won plenty in their recent run, including away wins at Sligo and Dundalk and a home win over Shamrock Rovers, with only one defeat in that stretch, a 2-0 loss at home to Waterford.

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1

Derry City to win

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£66.00

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Draw

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St Patrick's Athl. to win

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Derry City: 20 completed matches; St Patrick's Athl.: 20 completed matches.

Derry City

20 matches

Win

45% 9 / 20

Draw

20% 4 / 20

Loss

35% 7 / 20

Scored

37

Conceded

29

Difference

+8

St Patrick's Athl.

20 matches

Win

50% 10 / 20

Draw

25% 5 / 20

Loss

25% 5 / 20

Scored

29

Conceded

18

Difference

+11

Derry have also picked up results lately, winning at Galway in the FAI Cup on the tenth of October and beating Shelbourne and Dundalk along the way. They did lose 5-3 at Bohemians though, and drew with both Waterford and Shamrock Rovers, so there's some leakiness at the back.

Recent meetings keep ending level

The last four head-to-head games between these two have all been draws: 1-1, 0-0, 0-0 and 2-2. That's a notable run given how one-sided the league table looks right now.

Go back a bit further and there are more decisive results, including some wins for both sides, so this draw streak looks like a recent quirk rather than a long-standing pattern.

Four straight draws is hard to fully explain away, even with St Pat's clearly the better side on paper.

A big gap in the league table

St Pat's are top of the Premier Division with 59 points from 32 games, built on 17 wins and a goal difference of plus 27. Derry sit fourth on 41 points, a full 18 behind, with a much tighter goal difference of plus three.

What stands out with Derry is how often they've drawn. Fourteen draws in 32 league matches is a lot, and it helps explain why a side capable of scoring goals is still well off the pace at the top.

The table gap is real, but Derry's habit of drawing games is part of the story too.

Goals and cards to keep an eye on

St Pat's have two players on 10 league goals apiece in Edmondson and Keena, with Leavy also chipping in, so they've got more than one route to scoring. Derry's main threat is Duffy, also on 10 goals but from fewer matches.

Derry City:

Best scorers:

M. Duffy - 10

J. Clarke - 6

Penalty cards:

A. O'Reilly x 1 x 9

J. Clarke x 1 x 5

J. McClean x 1 x 4

St Patrick's Athl.:

Best scorers:

R. Edmondson - 10

A. Keena - 10

K. Leavy - 6

Penalty cards:

S. Hoare x 1 x 6

J. Lennon x 7

On discipline, Derry's O'Reilly and McClean have each picked up nine yellow cards this season, while St Pat's Lennon has seven. It points to a game that could get feisty in midfield.

How it could play out

St Pat's arrive as the league's standout team by points and goal difference, and their recent form backs that up. Derry are not far off in terms of recent results, but their season-long numbers, especially all those draws, suggest they're capable of frustrating a better side rather than consistently beating one.

Given the draw-heavy head-to-head history and Derry's home form, a tight, cagey contest looks likely, even if St Pat's remain the team with more going forward.