Bohemians and St Patrick's Athletic may have commenced their league campaign with a dreary, televised 0-0 draw at the Aviva Stadium but the pair are making the running early on in the season as we return from the international break.
Alan Reynolds' side hold onto top spot, though in the wake of successive draws, they have Pat's yapping at their heels, just one point adrift.
The Gypsies were held to a 1-1 draw at home to a resilient Dundalk a fortnight ago, Patrick Hickey's opener being cancelled by a Kacper Chorazka own goal on the hour mark. It was Dundalk's fifth draw from their first eight games.
Bohs are facing Louth opposition again this evening, though this time they're away from home against Drogheda United.
Reynolds will have to watch the game from the stand in Drogheda as he's serving a one-match ban for his part in the brawl that preceded the 1-1 draw away to Shelbourne last month.
"I didn't think there was a whole lot in it, just a bit of needle in the build-up to a big game," Reynolds said this week.
"But we move on, and we will learn from it... They [the players] know what their jobs are and what they have to do and, in Stephen O'Donnell, have a brilliant coach with plenty of managerial experience in the dugout."
It's been a messy season off the pitch for Drogheda following the flare controversy at Oriel Park - which drew the ire of the sports minister - and the removal of club president Joanna Byrne.
The former resulted in a ban on Drogheda fans at their next four away games. With the ban still in place, they managed to dig out a 2-2 draw away to Derry City in their last outing.
They have collected just three points from their last six games, however, with their two victories coming in the first two weekends of the season.
St Pat's, with five wins from their last six games, with look to maintain their current momentum at home to Sligo Rovers, who currently occupy the relegation play-off spot, just ahead of Waterford FC.
Centre-half Luke Turner bagged both goals in the 2-0 win at the RSC a fortnight ago. That victory did follow a brief hiccup at home to a struggling Derry, the goalless draw interrupting their flow of wins.
The visitors Sligo have been prone to starting slow in the league in recent season. 2026 has continued the trend as they've collected just four points from the opening eight games.
Goals have been a serious problem, with just three so far this campaign, two coming in their only victory against Drogheda, the other coming in a 2-1 opening day loss to Derry City.
Sligo are somewhat depleted for the Pat's trip, with Ryan O'Kane, Ciaron Harkin and Conor Reynolds are out, while Jad Hakiki hasn't recovered in time to be available.
"We see enough of the players every day to have full confidence in their abilities to create and score goals," Sligo Rovers manager John Russell says of the goals drought.
"In our last two games, we hit the crossbar and post and the opposition had players throwing themselves at the ball inside their own area to stop us scoring.
"It will happen for us, we just need to keep working hard and keep to what we're doing."
The champions Shamrock Rovers have made a famous habit of being sluggish out of the blocks. Given that they usually wind up winning the title in any case, this has been written off as a mere foible.
This year, they were slow to start quite literally, with their opening two games being postponed. The circumstances surrounding the postponement of their first fixture resulted in two pitch staff being suspended and the matter ended up in the Labour Court.
They've gotten up to speed relatively quickly since then. Their sole defeat came in the Dublin Derby in Dalymount, a fixture in which Stephen Bradley has a very patchy record.
They've won three and drawn of their past five matches since then, dispatching Galway United 2-0 in Tallaght the last time out. All known form indicates they should notch another win away to a Waterford side who have endured a torrid start to the season.
Jon Daly's side have lost five on the spin, conceding a total of 16 goals in the process. Their defensive record has been particularly bad on the road, shipping five in Dundalk, and four apiece in Derry and Galway.
An under-pressure Derry head west to play Galway United in the 8pm kick-off. Tiernan Lynch's side haven't won in the league since they overcame Waterford in late February and have slumped to sixth, nine points off top.
Losing a two-goal lead when in control against Drogheda was particularly egregious. James McClean was caught out with a long ball, with Warren Davis racing in behind to curl home the equaliser from just inside the box. The ex-Republic of Ireland player did appear to complain that he'd been fouled in the incident, though it was a night which typified Derry's stuttering season so far.
Much less was expected of Galway at the outset, having lost their US-import Hickey to Bohemians. It was feared that goals might be hard to come by but John Caulfield's side have dug out vital home wins against Sligo and Waterford thus far.
Kris Twardek found the net twice in the win over Waterford, while Frantz Pierrot late goal gave them crucial breathing space. They are unbeaten at home since conceding late to Drogheda on the opening day of the season.
2024 champions Shelbourne host the 2010s kingpins Dundalk in the night's other game. Back in the top flight after a traumatic couple of seasons, Ciaran Kilduff's side have started impressively, ekeing out points away from home against both Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians.
They left it late to snatch a draw at Tallaght, Danny Mullen firing in from practically the goal-line after a corner pinballed around the six yard box. However, one could hardly say it wasn't deserved and Dundalk could and should have been level earlier in the game. Their only blip so far occurred in a 4-0 reversal in Inchicore.
"I think the players are really excited after the international break," said Kilduff.
"The break probably came at a good time in terms of getting some bodies recovered and getting lads back, although we had a good run of form in terms of results too, so we just hope we can carry on where we left off."
Dan Kelly's second half strike gave Shels a badly needed win at the Showgrounds. Strangely, all three of their wins have come on the road, though this is perhaps explained by the breakdown of their fixture schedule.
Joey O'Brien's side are still after a first home win, having drawn with Bohs, Shamrock Rovers and Galway United, and been turned over 3-2 by a resurgent Pat's.
