St Patrick's Athletic are braced for a Turner's Cross cauldron this afternoon when they square up to Cork City in the Sports Direct FAI Cup semi-final [live on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player from 2.30pm].
The Saints have beaten Cork in the two games they've colllided this season, but all bets are off in an intrguing last-four clash.
With a place in the Aviva Stadium decider up for grabs, the Leesiders are desperate to atone for a poor league campaign with some cup glory. And they'll be roared on by a large, fired-up home crowd.
"You speak to any team in the league and they know it's a very tough place to go," St Pat's skipper Joe Redmond told RTÉ Sport's Adrian Eames.
"It's going to be a sold-out Turner's Cross but we're really looking forward to the challenge ahead.
"You have to prepare for it as you would any other game but know there's that extra bit of reward at the end of it to get to a cup final and get a bit of silveware.
"For the fans, the joy that it brings coming here and winning, that's the aim. It's a great occasion. As players, you want to get here and you want to win."
Pat's dug out a 1-0 win in Cork a week ago, but Redmond is taking nothing for granted ahead of their return.
"I don't think you need much motivation going down there. We're going to bring a load of fans and they're going to show up in their numbers as well. I'm sure both teams are ging to go out and leae it all out there.
"There's a lot to play for for everyone, but winning that cup would be fantastic."
In the home corner, Cork City captain Cian Coleman is hoping to channel the energy of the local support to get the back to the Aviva Stadium.
Coleman was at the Lansdowne Road venue as a fan in 2016 when Sean Maguire's dramatic extra-time goal sank Dundalk. They retained the trophy a year later when beating the Lilywhites on penalties, but have not been back in the decider since 2018 when Dundalk fnally got revenge in the shape of a 2-1 success.
"I was here with the Under-19s watching it when Maguire scored that last-minute goal in extra-time," he said.
"It was unbelievable. The club has a rich history in this competiiton. To get back here would be brilliant.
"I can't wait now. Hopefully a big corwod will be there. It's a massiev game for us, a chance to get to the Aviva woudl be unbelievable. It's a dream to play there. Hopefully we get the job done."
Midfielder Aaron Bolger is also hoping a racous atmosphere can tip the scales in Cork's favour. The Dubliner acknowledges their struggles in the league have hung heavy on the squad, but views today as a golden opportunity to lift the mood.
"It's going to be really rocking down there Sunday," said Bolger. "When the draw was being made I don't think anyone wanted to come down to Cork. It's an intimidating place to go. We'll be looking to use that to our advantage and hopefully get the win.
"It's been a really tough season but we've managed to get ourselves to a cup semi-final. That's something to be proud of, but it's going to be a really difficult game. We haven't managed to beat Pat's this season so we're under no illusions about how diffocut it's going to be.
"Obviously our league form hasn't been up to the standard but we have time to turn it around, we have time to stay in the division... and then if we got to the Aviva it would be an unbelievable season."
Watch the Sports Direct FAI Cup semi-final between Cork City and St Patrick's Athletic (2.30pm) on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player, listen to commentary on RTÉ Radio 1 or follow a live blog on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app
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