Sligo Rovers play Shamrock Rovers on Friday night in the SSE Airtricity Premier Division in Tallaght Stadium, kick-off 7:45pm, live on RTE2.
The Bit O’ Red, fourth in the table, take on the leaders. The previous meeting ended in a 3-2 win for the Dublin side, prior to the shutdown of the league.
Last Tuesday’s win over Derry City brought Liam Buckley’s side to 19 points, all achieved in the 10 games since the league restarted.
Fifteen have come in home matches, with an away win over the Candystripes and a point in Richmond Park against St Patrick’s Athletic.
Ryan De Vries scored his third goal of the season on Tuesday, one behind Ronan Coughlan who turns 24 on Friday, while there was a clean sheet for Ed McGinty, his third of the season.
In team news, Danny Kane and Sigitas Olkerkis are on the verge of returning. They will come into contention for the Shelbourne game on 18 October. Johnny Dunleavy is out with a knee problem.
David Cawley returns from a suspension. Regan Donelon is a doubt with a groin problem picked up on Tuesday night vs Derry.
Liam Buckley said: “I thought we played well against Derry. We had to keep going and the goal came late on. I felt it was deserved and the players got their reward. Our control of the ball and control of the game was good. We passed it better, linked it in better, and I was chuffed for the players because I want them to keep possession because it will lead to more chances and get results.
“If we can bring similar displays into the last four games, we’ll pick up more points. I don’t know how it will turn out when you see how the table is. All we can do is try to keep putting in performances to win one game. There’ll be more twists and turns and we have to dig in and give ourselves a chance of a strong finish. It’s important to be attached to the top end of the table, it can change in an instant.
“We’re playing the champions in waiting. It’s a tough game without doubt and a new challenge to take on. But it’s a one-off game. We got a point there last year and we had to really dig in. I’ve said to the boys that we need a big effort to finish off this season to make sure we stay away from the bottom and get up as high as we can. It would be a great result for us to come away with something and I do feel we can do it certainly. We’ll go there with that belief.”