Sligo Rovers vs Derry City Prediction

Recent form: contrasting pictures

Derry City's last 20 matches across all competitions show 8 wins, 4 draws and 8 losses, with 36 scored and 31 conceded. That's a mixed but broadly competitive record, including league games, FAI Cup ties and European fixtures against Rijeka and CSKA Sofia.

Sligo Rovers: 20 completed matches; Derry City: 20 completed matches.

Sligo Rovers

20 matches

Win

15% 3 / 20

Draw

20% 4 / 20

Loss

65% 13 / 20

Scored

22

Conceded

40

Difference

-18

Derry City

20 matches

Win

40% 8 / 20

Draw

20% 4 / 20

Loss

40% 8 / 20

Scored

36

Conceded

31

Difference

+5

Sligo Rovers' equivalent sample is much rougher: 3 wins, 4 draws and 13 losses from 20 matches, with 22 goals scored against 40 conceded. That's a team that has struggled to create and even more to defend, regardless of opponent.

Derry's sample includes cup and European games, so it isn't a pure reflection of league form alone.

Comparative Team Statistics: Sligo Rovers vs Derry City

Head-to-head: Derry's the dominant side

Across the last 20 meetings between these clubs, Derry City have won 10, Sligo Rovers have won 4, and 6 have been drawn. The most recent meeting, back in August 2026, ended 2-0 to Derry.

That head-to-head run stretches back to 2022 and covers plenty of competitive football, not just a single season's worth of meetings. It's a long-run pattern rather than a guarantee for this specific fixture.

League standings: a sizeable gap

Derry City sit 4th with 41 points from 32 games, built on 9 wins, 14 draws and 9 losses. Sligo Rovers are down in 10th with 23 points from the same number of matches, having won just 5 and lost 19.

The goal difference tells a similar story: Derry have scored 45 and conceded 42, while Sligo have scored 24 and conceded 54. That's a wide gap in output at both ends of the pitch.

Key names to watch

Mark Duffy has been Derry's most productive attacker with 10 goals in 25 appearances, well ahead of J. Clarke's 6 in 27. For Sligo, C. Kavanagh leads the scoring charts with 6 goals in 28 matches, a modest return for a team that has struggled up front all season.

Sligo Rovers:

Best scorers:

C. Kavanagh - 6

Penalty cards:

C. McHugh x 1 x 8

S. Quirk x 1 x 5

O. Denham x 1 x 3

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

On the discipline side, a handful of players on both teams have picked up multiple yellow cards this campaign, including A. O'Reilly and Patrick McClean for Derry, and C. McHugh for Sligo. Nothing there points to suspension concerns specifically for this fixture, though.