UC Dublin take on the visitors Derry City in the round 26 match of Irish Premier League. The match will be played on Wednesday, September 6th at UCD Bowl (Dublin).
UCD can already prepare for the next year and analyze the reasons for their problems. The Students were founded in 1895, but their list of successes is quite short. They managed to win the cup once in 1984 and, somewhat surprisingly, the Super Cup in 2000. They also played in the UEFA Cup (they were eliminated by Everton) and the UEFA Europa League (they made it to the qualifiers in 2015, defeating Dudelange with home wins, aided by the away goals rule, but then lost to Slovan both at home and in Bratislava). The capital club spent many years in the second division of Ireland. They returned from there once again in 2021, via playoff matches, and survived in the top tier last autumn after finishing second-to-last in the Premier Division. However, it's now clear that there's no chance of staying in the top division of Ireland. They have only managed to collect a meager 10 points, with just 1 point in their last 7 matches. Moreover, since May, the team at the bottom has only lost twice in that entire period.
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Derry City are fighting to maintain their positions from last year. The Candystripes are based in Northern Ireland and played there until 1984. They were quite successful, winning both the league title and the cup. In the republican format, they also won all possible tournaments over four decades. In 2022, they won the Irish Cup once again, moving up to second place in the league. This allowed them to start in the UEFA Europa Conference League qualifiers, where they pleasantly surprised by almost making it to the group stage. After defeating HB Torshavn and Finnish side KuPS, the Irish team faced Tobol, exchanging narrow 1-0 victories. However, the Kazakhs prevailed in the penalty shootout. Now, they need to focus on their domestic performance, where there's plenty to fight for. Shamrock Rovers hasn't pulled too far ahead, and they still need to secure their second-place spot in the battle against St. Patrick's Athletic.
In their last 10 head-to-head matches, the Dublin club has only managed to secure 1 draw. All the others were won by the Northern Irish representative, including the last 7 matches. In 2023, The Candystripes even scored 4 goals in both of the games. The teams are at opposite ends of the Premier Division table. So, you can consider betting on a victory for Derry City with a handicap of -2.0 goals scored.
Prediction for the match: Derry City to win with -2.0 handicap.
