The second series of matches in the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division matches begin tonight, with league leaders Shelbourne hosting Bohemians in a Dublin derby in front of the RTÉ cameras.
It was a chaotic first quarter with two managers losing their jobs, including Stephen O’Donnell this week, and Shels rocketing to the summit.
Derry City and St Patrick’s Athletic have had rocky spells, while champions Shamrock Rovers sit nine points off the lead with a game in hand.
On this Masters week, the league’s equivalent of 'moving day’ is this second series.
There will be three Monday fixtures for some teams with rescheduling due to postponements and future European matches.
Many expect the Hoops will reduce Shelbourne’s lead in this period.
The clash with Bohs represents the first of many tricky games to come for the Reds.
An FAI punishment means they will play without fans at their next away game in Galway.
Elsewhere there is a clash of the Rovers when Shamrock host Sligo at Tallaght Stadium.
Stephen Bradley’s side looked to be cruising to three points against St Pat's in Inchicore until some lapses and poor finishing cost them.
Sligo also had a painful defeat at the venue in their last game having sat out last week following Storm Kathleen.
Managerless Dundalk take on Pat’s as a new era gets set to begin at Oriel Park.
It will be interesting to see what impact the departure of O’Donnell has as Liam Burns and Brian Gartland take interim charge.
The Saints come into the game in great spirits after back-to-back victories in home matches and are well-positioned now in the table, even with four defeats.
The two newly-promoted teams try to continue their fine starts to life in the Premier Division when they collide at the RSC.
Waterford and Galway United have achieved some fine results. Much has been made about how competitive the league is this year, yet it feels as if the games with sides fancied to finish around the bottom could prove crucial.
Elsewhere Derry City settled their season with the routine win over Dundalk.
They sit in second place despite several questionable displays. This second quarter of the season could prove very telling for several sides.
Shelbourne v Bohemians, Tolka Park, 7.45pm
These are great days at Tolka Park.
Additional standing capacity is being added to deal with demand with another sellout tonight.
While events off the pitch overshadowed the game in Drogheda, it was a good battling performance from Shelbourne to take a point.
Mark Coyle and Sean Gannon could be available for the Reds despite injury problems.
The spirit which has taken them this far early in the season is something Damien Duff takes a lot from.
"I take great pride in the togetherness we’ve created, the feel good factor, everyone loves seeing each other, players and staff. There’s a feel good vibe and emotion around the club, how do we keep it here?
"By winning games. How do we win games? By working hard and having high bloody standards on and off the pitch."
Neighbours Bohemians and Shels have played some very close games recently, with Duff's outfit getting the upper hand in Dalymount earlier in the campaign.
A meeting with one of the main capital rivals is inspirational, according to the Shels boss.
"It's back to the Dublin Derbies, I guess no matter how much I and staff try to create that edge and emotion for when we play Dundalk or UCD, Galway or Derry to the day I die I’ll never be able to recreate it, I’m glad it’s come around I can’t wait to see a full and pumping Tolka, bring it on."
It has been one step forward and one step back for Bohs since Alan Reynolds took over.
A win over Galway United was sandwiched in between defeats to Shamrock Rovers and Waterford.
It points to a longer-term project for Reynolds to put his stamp on things in Dalymount.
Reynolds said: "We didn't start well, which was very frustrating given how well we started against Galway on Monday. We need to start like that every game but against Waterford we weren’t good enough.
"We gave away a cheap goal and that is something we have to rectify and have been working on because it gave Waterford the platform to change how they play and approach the game because they had a lead to cling on to.
"We’ve learned a lot over the last couple of weeks but we have to be better and work a lot harder than we did. We had our chances though but ultimately it was a frustrating night and we have to do better."
The prospect of a clash with Shels excites the new manager as he experiences another derby.
He said: "When you work for a big Dublin club like Bohs you realise how important all derby games are to the fans.
"Shelbourne have really good players who are playing very well at the moment. They are top of the league for a reason, so we have to respect them as they have really good players who have shown they can hurt teams.
"But from our point of view, the most important thing is getting ourselves right. We have to deal with their attacking threats but we have to make sure we are an attacking threat ourselves."
Dylan Connolly is a doubt. Keith Buckley and Rob Cornwall remain out.
Dundalk v St Patrick’s Athletic, Oriel Park, 7.45pm
On paper it's easy to see how Liam Burns and Brian Gartland could lift the mood at Oriel Park.
A goal would certainly be a start.
Two 0-0 draws and painful defeats to Sligo Rovers and Galway United went a long way to the change in managerial position.
O’Donnell was undoubtedly a victim of the instability at the club in recent years.
The fact now is something must change or relegation become a real possibility for the club which dominated the league before Shamrock Rovers took over.
Burns has looked to move on from a painful last few days for the club.
"Monday was tough for everyone but the nature of football means you can’t dwell on things for too long.
"The full focus over the past few days has been on preparing for Pat’s. There’s been a good response from the lads in training and we’re looking forward to it.
"It’ll be a difficult game and Pat’s will be full of confidence after winning their last two but as we’ve seen, week in, week out, there’s nothing between any of the teams in this league.
"We obviously haven’t made the start that we would have wanted but we’re at home on Friday night and we need everyone to stick together, to get behind the team and the club, and help us move up the table
Archie Davies returns from suspension and Jamie Walker is back in the squad after recovering from a hamstring injury but Ciaran McGuckin and Andy Boyle are doubtful.
Shamrock Rovers v Sligo Rovers, Tallaght Stadium, 8pm
The champions welcome Sligo Rovers to Tallaght Stadium with a few injury problems and in a mood to bounce back from their loss in Inchicore.
Attacking options were thin on the ground in that game with Rory Gaffney and Johnny Kenny out with injury.
Kenny will return tonight to face his hometown club in what could be a big addition to their squad.
Seán Kavanagh was given the all clear during the week while Trevor Clarke returned last week.
Aaron McEneff and Jack Byrne will remain on the sidelines for now. Lee Grace will return next week.
Manager Stephen Bradley is pleased with where his side are in terms of performances.
"I think people look at points and I get that, then they assume we're either doing well or badly, but we don’t do that.
"We look at the process it takes to get there and the performances. You look at the stats this year, they back up what we feel that we’re performing better this year than we were in 2023. The stats show, that other than crosses into the box, we’re first in the league in everything else in terms of entries into the box, touches in the box, shots, chances created and possession.
"So what it tells us is that we’re right where we want to be. Of course we want more points and win more games and that goes without saying but we tend to look at how our performances and our processes are doing.
"We know if they’re good, the points tally will look after itself. We’re happy in one sense but we want more points and more wins, but there’s never any panic with the group. We know where we are and what we need to improve on."
Sligo have the smallest amount of senior professionals of the full-time outfits in the league and were set to be very depleted against Galway United last week, only for the weather to intervene.
There is good news for manager John Russell who has both full back JR Wilson and goalkeeper Ed McGinty available.
Simon Power will miss the game through suspension, while Nando Pijnaker and John Mahon continue to recover from long-term injuries.
Russell said: "It's disappointing to lose two key players but it opens the door for other players to grab the shirt.
"It’s important we continue to focus on ourselves and keep improving our performances.
"We know playing Shamrock Rovers away is always a difficult fixture but we’ve picked up some good results away from home this season so we will show no fear coming into the game.
"We will be back again by another large travelling support which has been huge for us this season."
Drogheda United v Derry City, Weavers Park, 7.45pm
Ruaidhri Higgins has been looking to the positives now that they turned a corner in terms of results.
He is not happy with the overall picture, even with second place, however.
'There's no getting away from it, we had a poor couple of weeks where we lost back-to-back games, but outside of that there have been good signs" he said.
"It's been very much up and down, but we know that if you can be consistent and you’re able to put a run together, you can make a real impact on the league table."
"Winning matches obviously brings confidence into the group and we’ve had a full week to prepare for the Drogheda game, so it’s one we’re looking forward to.’
Weavers Park hasn’t always been a happy hunting ground for Derry.
"We won on one of our visits there last season but there have also been quite a few draws and a few defeats as well.
They’re obviously a very tough nut to crack, particularly down there.
"In their last couple of home games they’ve conceded a 94th minute equaliser to the league leaders and before that they held St Pats as well, so two of the top teams in the country have been unable to beat them."
Illness has affected the camp this week but a number of the injured stars are set to return for Derry.
Higgins revealed: "We definitely have one or two of them really close now and added to the boys who came back in recently, things are better on that score.
"Unfortunately there was a bit of sickness in the camp as well, and that’s not ideal when you’re preparing for a game, but we’ll be OK.
"As I say, it’s a game we’re looking forward to and while we’re well aware how tough it will be, if our attitude is right, we’re well capable of picking up three points."
United will be without Luke Heeney once more due to suspension. The 2-2 draw with Shels was another steady result and another game in Weavers Park, even against a side like Derry, will be most welcome.
Waterford FC v Galway United, RSC, 7.45pm
Waterford made the move to replace Alan Reynolds with Matt Lawlor this week ahead of the game with Galway United.
The Englishman joins the Blues having been Under-21s manager of their sister-club, Fleetwood Town, spending almost five years with the Cod Army.
After two defeats on the bounce the Blues upset Bohemians last week to steady the ship and secure a first three points on the road.
Cameron Cresswell (thigh) and Barry Baggley (back) both miss out. Matt Connor has returned to training after illness earlier in the week.
United miss out on action due in Sligo last week. They're looking to respond to a disappointing display against Bohemians on the Easter Bank Holiday Monday.
Watch Shelbourne v Bohemians in the League of Ireland on Friday from 7.35pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app
