Friday 15/08/2014, 21:00, Ireland Premier League, Round 23, Dundalk vs Limerick

Dundalk vs Limerick Preview

Dundalk lost a single match in the last 20 played, but that was enough to suffer an untimely elimination from Europa League. They are now trying to get back in the driver seat and consolidate their position at the top of the domestic championship. Past performance suggests that they should have an easy task at beating Limerick, but the visitors are in good form and have scored eight goals in the last two matches.

Dundalk vs Limerick Odds

At Expekt

Dundalk 1.40, Draw 4.80, Limerick 7.60

Dundalk vs Limerick Tips

Dundalk won a very important match two weeks ago against Cork City, the runner-up and the most likely counter candidate for the Premier League trophy. Now the two teams are separated by four points and if they end up tied for the lead, it will be the current leader that will be crowned champion.

Things could take a turn for the worse this evening, if they fail to win all three points against Limerick, but even so the hosts will have a safety net in place. Their rivals are traveling to Derry City, for an extremely difficult match that they are not expected to win, so lady luck can still smile down benevolently upon them.

Dundalk will not take any chances and field a standard 4-4-2 starting formation with Hoban and Byrne up front, as they only need a narrow margin victory. By contrast, the visitors will barricade themselves in their own half and hope that Gaffney will make the most of his opportunities to score, even though he will find himself stranded in the offensive.

Much to their credit, Limerick managed to win the last two games by 4-1 and even though they were playing in front of their fans, the convincing victories acted as morale boosters. Traveling to the leaders will definitely result in a change of strategy, but overall the adjustments will be minimal and it would come as no surprise if the visitors scored early.

Key Facts

• Dundalk is dangerous on many levels, with their second best goalscorer being defender Towell with 9 goals
• Dundalk won 10 times at home in 20 games, but more than half of those victories were narrow margin ones

Dundalk vs Limerick Prediction

The hosts will probably prevail, but there is no point in wasting a dime on these odds, and savvy punters will look elsewhere for value. A great alternative would be to bet on Limerick not to lose by more than one goal, with the +1.5 Asian handicap being priced at 1.75 at Expekt.

Bet: Limerick +1.5 goals @ 1.75 with Expekt