Derry City welcome Sligo Rovers to the Ryan McBride Brandywell tonight as they look to keep their unbeaten start, live on RTÉ2, while in south Dublin there's a high-stakes game for two sides desperate for a win.
In what could be a record night for the league with the possibility of every top-flight match being a sell-out, two games kick-off at 5pm followed by another at the regular 7.45pm.
The Candystripes take on an inconsistent Sligo Rovers who have still registered two wins so far this year with just a single defeat.
The Bit O’ Red have fallen behind in four of their five matches this campaign and the one game in which they took the lead was with 10-men as they took an unlikely victory over St Pat’s.
Ruaidhri Higgins will be wary of a Sligo side who have shown good attacking prowess and some fine football to go with it.
Before that the league leaders Bohemians will fancy their chances of ending the night where they started when UCD visit Dalymount Park.
It’s been a dream start to Declan Devine’s first full season with four wins from five.
With College’s small support base, the game will see the biggest home attendance at the north Dublin venue in modern times.
College are up against it when it comes to avoiding the automatic drop even at this early stage.
The sides directly above them are expected to move away at some point and for one it could be tonight as Shamrock Rovers host St Patrick’s Athletic in a Dublin derby.
The winless Hoops have been aiming to keep their cool in the face of their slow beginning to 2023.
They’ve often warmed to the task before a spell a domination, particularly in Tallaght, but there’s no doubt they’ll be eager to start reeling in Derry and their arch-rival Bohemians.
Tim Clancy’s Saints have at least one victory on the board. However that doesn’t tell the story of what has been a miserable March, shipping nine goals with ease over three games and lacking any emphasis in attack.
Goalkeeping errors have been at the forefront while the manager has been scathing his post-match assessments.
It’s early days, yet a painful defeat to their neighbours would put real pressure on Pat’s and their manager.
The performance will be as key as the result with a two-week international break to come after tonight.
Elsewhere two sides which have shown real battling qualities, Cork City and Shelbourne, meet at Turner’s Cross.
They share that quality as well as being opposites in how they feature in defence and attack.
City have hit the net 10 times over three matches, even though they’ve only five points to show for it.
Shels, meanwhile, have been yielded just three goals all season, and scored the same amount.
It gives Colin Healy and Damien Duff something to consider going into tonight’s game.
Derry City v Sligo Rovers, Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium, 7.45pm
City boss Ruaidhri Higgins has given a cagey update on the availability of their injury players ahead of the visit of Rovers.
Key defender Mark Connolly's hamstring injury is serious but they are awaiting more details before offering a timeline on how long he will be out.
Adam O'Reilly, Cameron McJannett, Cameron Dummigan and Michael Duffy could return tonight, but Higgins hasn't offered any clarity.
"The news on Mark’s injury wasn’t exactly what we were hoping for but we’ve asked the specialist for clarity on the recovery process as opposed to just trying to guess a number.
"Obviously we’ve had a few lads out of the squad recently as well and a couple of them have been very close to a return, but we’ll wait and see.
"The players who have come in have done really well and we have the depth in the squad to cope with things a lot better now."
Higgins was in Sligo to watch their opponents draw 2-2 with Cork City and he was impressed by their desire to rescue a point.
"They did well to show the guts and character to come from 2 down and they never gave up" he said.
"Obviously we’re at home on Friday and the onus is on us to go and attack the game."
"We’re really pleased with our start- 11 points from 15 is a great effort but we want to try to win the game and go into the break with our run intact.
"We’ve prepared well this week and it’s a match we’re really looking forward to."
This is the second live game on RTÉ Sport of the season with the Brandywell a sell-out including 350 from Sligo.
Shamrock Rovers v St Patrick's Athletic, Tallaght Stadium, 5pm
"We're just five games in and the table will evolve over the course of the season. If we keep performing like we are and add the final piece of taking some of our opportunities, we’ll be fine."
It's a simple message from Stephen Bradley as St Patrick's Athletic visit Tallaght Stadium.
Dylan Watts and Markus Poom. Simon Power misses out due to an injury picked up in a Leinster Senior Cup game.
Bradley feels Pat's have been somewhat unlucky so far
"When you look back at their games against Bohs and Sligo, they will feel that should have gotten something out of those games, they had plenty of attacking threats there. They were well beaten by Dundalk but in the other two, they will feel that they created enough to get a point out of each.
"I'm expecting a really good game. The pitch is perfect, we know it will be a very big crowd, and Pat’s on St. Patrick’s Day should be a great atmosphere.
The Saints, backed by 1,200 visiting fans, will be without Jamie Lennon due to his red card last week.
Bohemians v UCD, Dalymount Park, 7.45pm
Bohemians will welcome UCD to Dalymount, with supporters expected to mingle in the new Mono Stand, which is usually reserved for away followers only.
Keith Buckley, with a calf issue, is a doubt for while Dylan Connolly serves the last of his three-game ban following his sending-off against Shelbourne
"We have done a lot of work on UCD this week," says Bohemians manager Declan Devine.
"Nobody at the club underestimates them. You only have to go back to the opening day of the season when they went away to an expectant Dundalk and came away with a draw.
"They gave Sligo one hell of a game at the Bowl too so we are under no illusions that we have to be at our very best in every game we play.
"History tells us that on their day UCD are capable of beating anyone in this league and if we show any disrespect to anybody we will end up with egg on our face."
The Students will make the short trip across town with Sam Todd still a couple of weeks away from a return.
Cork City v Shelbourne, Turner's Cross, 5pm
Damien Duff is expected to travel to the south-west without Jad Hakiki, Mark Coyle, Conor Kane, Sean Boyd and Paddy Barrett, but Shane Griffin is back and available for the Reds.
Only goal difference separates Cork City in 6th from the Reds in 7th, and Duff has been impressed by the Leesiders start to the season:
"Cork have done brilliantly well, they certainly haven't tiptoed into the league. They’ve laid a marker down to tell the test for the division they’ve come up.
"They’re a high energy team and they play with intensity, they’re capable of scoring a few, 10 goals in 3 games and also letting a few in.
"They’ll have Turners Cross rocking, and our lads will be ready for it. It’s one of the great places to go in League of Ireland football, proper ground, an atmosphere, and a derby feel usually when it’s a Dublin team coming to town.
"We've gone through the video this morning and the lads know what to expect, it might not be pretty, there is always that edge, Shels against Cork City, and even that rivalry of a team from Dublin going down to Cork, there’s always a bit of blood, guts and thunder. It’s a proper fixture and we’re ready for it."
Watch Derry City v Sligo Rovers in the League of Ireland live on Friday from 7.35pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
