St Patrick's Athletic vs Drogheda United Tips, Predictions and Bet Builder

Second-placed Drogheda United go to St Patrick's Athletic, who sit fourth, in a big League of Ireland Premier Division clash on Friday.

Drogheda are six points behind leaders Shamrock Rovers following a 2-2 draw with Waterford before the international break, which extended their unbeaten run to four games, while St Pat's edged out bottom-of-the-table Sligo Rovers 1-0 on the road in their most recent outing.

Saints are unbeaten at home so far this season, winning five and drawing four at Richmond Park, and they are just a point behind Friday's opponents in a congested top six.

St Patrick's Athletic vs Drogheda United Tips Summary

Market	Tip	Odds
Match Result	St Patrick's Athletic	3/4
Best Bet	St Patrick's Athletic to win	3/4
Bet Builder	Both teams to score - No, Aidan Keena to score anytime & St Patrick's Athletic to score over 1.5 goals	6/1

Key Match Stats

• St Patrick's Athletic are unbeaten at home this season
• St Pat's have scored two goals or more in seven of their nine home league games
• The last two meetings between the sides have ended goalless
• Drogheda are unbeaten in their last four games but have drawn three in that run
• United have failed to win any of their last five away matches

St Patrick's Athletic vs Drogheda United Prediction

Best Bet: St Patrick's Athletic to win @ 3/4

St Pat's head into this Friday showdown knowing a victory would move them ahead of Drogheda and the hosts' formidable record at Richmond Park means they will be confident of securing all three points.

Stephen Kenny's side have already impressively seen off Bohemians, Galway and Derry City in front of their own fans this season and up against a Drogheda outfit that has failed to win any of their last five games on the road, they should enjoy another home success.

The 1-0 win at bottom-of-the-table Sligo last time was not exactly convincing as Aidan Keena's early penalty proved to be just about enough but they can underline their title credentials with an important victory, while denting the visitors' own ambitions this season in the process.

Aidan Perkins explains:

No team has won at Richmond Park all season so Drogheda look set to be in for a difficult evening against St Pat's.

St Patrick's Athletic vs Drogheda United Bet Builder Tip

• Both teams to score - No
• Aidan Keena to score anytime
• St Patrick's Athletic to score over 1.5 goals
  Pays 6/1

Drogheda have failed to score in two of their last three away games when losing 3-0 at Shamrock Rovers and drawing 0-0 with Shelbourne and they have also failed to get on the scoresheet in their last two meetings with St Pat's - although the same can be said for Athletic as there have been two goalless affairs between them so far this year.

With Saints tipped to win on Friday it looks set to be just Kenny's side on the scoresheet this time and Keena is an obvious candidate to help the hosts record an important victory as the striker has scored six goals from 13 league appearances this term.

The 26-year-old began the campaign well, netting five goals in the first four games, before a hamstring injury kept him out for over a month.

Keena returned at the start of May and while it has taken him a while to get fully back up to speed, he was the match-winner against Sligo and can build on that effort on Friday.

Furthermore, St Pat's usually score at least twice at home, having managed the feat in seven of their nine games at Richmond Park this season.

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Aidan Perkins adds:

Keena is well worth considering in the goalscorer markets after he was the difference against Sligo, while it would not be a surprise to see St Pat's registering two or more goals at home again.

Tactics, Form and Team News

Romal Palmer is still on the sidelines with a hamstring injury for Saints but Zachary Elbouzedi and Simon Power are both set to start either side of central striker Keena.

Possible St Patrick's Athletic lineup: (4-3-3): Anang; McLaughlin, Redmond, Hoare, Breslin; Leavy, Lennon, McLelland; Elbouzedi, Keena, Power.

Drogheda will be without defender Elicha Ahui after his sending off against Waterford, while James Bolger, Shane Farrell, Ryan Brennan and Paul Doyle are all major doubts.

Possible Drogheda United lineup: (3-4-2-1): Dennison; Cooper, Keeley, Quinn; Lambe, Markey, Heeney, Kane; Davis, Aluwa; James-Taylor.

View the full market and more odds for St Patrick's Athletic vs Drogheda United on site.

This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.