Cork City v Bohemian FC, Turner's Cross, 3pm
Cork City are on home soil for the second Monday in a row as they welcome Bohs to Leeside.
On Friday night, the champions were held to a 1-1 draw in Limerick and John Caulfield’s side have four wins, a draw and a defeat to show from their opening six games.
The visitors have had a mixed start to their campaign; they underlined their quality with an opening-day win over Shamrock Rovers, winning 3-1 after going behind, but have failed to win since.
Last Friday they led twice at home to Sligo Rovers but had to settle for a share of the spoils. Their last away game was a 1-0 defeat against Waterford at the RSC.
Team news
Cork City: Johnny Dunleavy is still sidelined, while Steven Beattie and Alan Bennett will both be assessed before kick-off. Garry Buckley comes back into the fold after missing the Limerick game through illness.
Bohs: Kevin Devaney (Achilles) and Rob Manley (bug) return for the trip south. Ryan Swan (cruciate) and Cristian Magerusan (metatarsal) remain out.
Gaffer talk
John Caulfield (Cork City): "I think if we start well, we always look like we can win games. If you don’t start well, you make it difficult for yourself. In fairness to the lads, they were disappointed with the other night, but they were buzzing this morning and looking forward to playing at home."
Keith Long (Bohs): "I was pleased with the performance against Sligo, the only disappointment was that we didn't take all three points."
Limerick FC v Shamrock Rovers, Markets Field, 6.30pm
Limerick boss Tommy Barrett is likely to field a young side as injuries continue to mount up ahead of their clash with Shamrock Rovers.
The manager experimented in Friday’s draw against Cork City, with Billy Dennehy – who netted – at left-back and Kilian Cantwell in midfield while Danny Morrissey played on the wing.
Morrissey, along with Daniel Kearns, was forced off during the game, and those who were sat on the sidelines – midfield pair Eoin Wearen (groin), Barry Maguire (ankle) and striker Mark O’Sullivan (hand) – are still a way from returning to action.
The Hoops, after their 1-0 win over St Pat's, are now just three points behind leaders Cork.
Team news
Limerick: Tommy Barrett will be without Eoin Wearen (groin), Barry Maguire (ankle) and Mark O’Sullivan (hand), while the manager is also monitoring a number of players’ fitness, with Daniel Kearns (quad) and Danny Morrissey (groin) forced off during Friday’s Munster derby.
Shamrock Rovers: Ally Gilchrist trained again on Sunday as he nears a return. No other injury concerns.
Gaffer talk
Tommy Barrett (Limerick): "It will be tough to go again, because we wouldn’t have the squads that Cork and Rovers have. Any of those periods where we have three games in a week are tough for us, because we’re a bit lighter than those squads. But we’ll go into it with a good attitude. We have a lot of good lads in the squad and we’ll try our best."
Stephen Bradley (Shamrock Rovers): "It was a good result [against St Pat’s] and I thought we deserved it. The pressure told in the end. They wanted to sit in and make it frustrating. That’s the game they made it, to come for a draw but watching it back we had some really good passages of play and we opened them up a few times. We did well at Markets Field last year, it was one of the games in a good run we had so hopefully we can start something like that again."
St Pat's Athletic v Sligo Rovers, Richmond Park PP
Bray Wanderers v Waterford FC, Carlisle Grounds PP
Richmond Park and the Carlisle Grounds both failed to pass early morning pitch inspections and these fixtures have been postponed.
