Waterford v Longford Town, RSC 6pm, [Live on WatchLOI]
It's never dull in Waterford. On Friday, Blues manager Kevin Sheedy denied claims that he'd resigned amid media reports that he and his assistant Mike Newell did not take Thursday's team training and had departed the club.
Not the case, both club and Sheedy insisted. He will be in the dugout for the visit of Longford and the hosts are desperate to end a rocky few days with a win.
Waterford have just three points on the board from their opening six games, with five losses and just the one win. Newly promoted Longford are two points better off.
Team news
Waterford: Cian Kavanagh and Oscar Brennan are unavailable. Paul Martin picked up a knock in training while there's also doubts over Daryl Murphy and Issac Tshipamba.
Longford Town: Longford are without Dean Byrne, Dean Zambra, Aaron McNally and Callum Warfield.
What they said
Daire Doyle (Longford manager): "We need to get results against the teams around us. That's going to be key when it comes to the final stages of the season. These are the games that we need to be taking something out of. We go into the match against Waterford in a positive mood after a couple of good performances."
Sligo Rovers v Derry City, the Showgrounds, 6pm, [Live on WatchLOI]
Derry have endured a really tough start to the new campaign but they travel to Sligo hoping for a 'new manager bounce' after Ruaidhrí Higgins replaced Declan Devione in the hot seat on Friday.
Higgins has departed from his his role as the Republic of Ireland's chief scout and opposition analyst. Having spent eight seasons at the Candystripes as a player in two different spells, he's fully aware of the expectations at the Ryan McBride Brandywell.
They have yet to win a game this season and face a very tough test this evening. The Bit O'Red remain unbeaten after six games and look like they are going to be a serious force this year having built on a brilliant second half to the season last year.
Team news
Sligo Rovers: Danny Kane is out and Shane Blaney is a doubt due to injury. Walter Figueira is available however after recovering from a knock against Bohs.
Derry City: The visitors have no major concerns.
What they said
Liam Buckley (Sligo Rovers boss): "It's going to be as hard-fought as every other game we’ve played so far this season. Nothing comes easy, that is how the league is. We’re looking forward to it."
Ruaidhri Higgins (Derry City boss): "Performances have gradually improved but the next objective is to get three points on the board. We need to get a win and I'm sure confidence will grow from that and we can kick on and climb the table."
Dundalk v Drogheda United, Oriel Park, 6pm, [Live on WatchLOI]
The Lilywhites come into this Louth derby still searching for a new manager to replace the departed Shane Keegan and Filippo Giovagnoli. It's remarkable to think that the Drogs can pull eight points clear of their neighbours if they plunder a win at Oriel, and they might be fancying their chances against wounded opponents.
Tim Clancy's men were very unfortunate not to take a point from their midweek clash with Shamrock Rovers as a Danny Mandroiu header deep into injury-time broke their hearts. They've been largely impressive since their return to the top flight however and could make life awkward for Dundalk this evening as they hunt a first derby win since 2014.
Team news
Dundalk: Pat Hoban is out with the injury that saw him limp off in the draw against Derry City last Tuesday. Sonni Nattestad is a doubt while Brian Gartland and Daniel Kelly are out although the latter is inching closer to full fitness.
Drogheda United: Mark Hughes is injured while Conor Kane, Dinny Corcoran and Jake Hyland are doubts.
What they said
Jim Magilton (Dundalk interim boss): "The derby is a fantastic game for these boys because they’ve got to raise their level and when they do raise their levels you see moments of real quality. The goal we scored in Derry was a fabulous goal, but there’s not enough of that. We haven’t kept a clean sheet and that’s also not acceptable. The next game is the most important 90 minutes of their lives."
Kevin Doherty (Drogheda assistant manager): "This is why we worked for three years to get promoted for these games - Shamrock Rovers, Dundalk at home or away - and now we're there so we're going to try make the most of it and try and compete."
