Shamrock Rovers are seeking revenge within the chance to solidify their position at the top of the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division when arch-rivals Bohemians cross the city to Tallaght Stadium.
The Hoops suffered their most painful loss of the year at the hands of Bohs, going down 3-2 in Dalymount Park, as the Gypsies made a strong start in February and for most of March.
Many expected things to turnaround and they did, with Alan Reynolds’ side failing to win in their last five matches and falling to a first loss of the year last week to Sligo Rovers.
The champions are quickly warming to the task, as they tend to do, and hitting the summit at this stage of the campaign is an ominous sign for the rest of the teams.
Manager Stephen Bradley is looking forward to the clash in front of 10,000 fans: "Two good teams, we're expecting similar to St Pat's last week with a lot of good players on the pitch. It’s another Dublin derby and you look at the recent Shels game, we should be 4-1 up with the game over, then two minutes later it’s 3-2 and game on.
"Dublin derbies have a habit of momentum changing so quickly in moments. We know tonight is a tough game, but it’s one we’re very much ready for and looking forward to."
In the other dugout, Alan Reynolds wants Bohs to lick their wounds from last week's shock loss to bounce back in the best possible way.
Bohs have won four of their past five meetings with Stephen Bradley's side, but they have only come out on top once in the last 12 games at the Dublin 24 venue.
Reynolds said: "We went the first series of games getting plaudits for how we defended well and took games to opposition teams, so we have to take it on the chin when we get a bit of stick for shooting ourselves in the foot like we did last week now too.
"It's been a frustrating few weeks for us. We’ve drawn games we felt we should have won and against Sligo we weren’t up to the standards we have set ourselves.
"People don't need me to tell them how good a team Rovers are. The table, and their record over the past number of years, speaks for itself.
"But we know how good we can be too. We dug deep to beat Rovers this season already, so we will go there with confidence."We’re bringing 1000 fans across the city to Rovers' backyard, a packed out hostile stadium, and these are the challenges that anyone in football needs to relish."
Dawson Devoy is back from suspension in a big lift for the Gypsies.
St Patrick’s Athletic have lost back-to-back matches as they travel to Louth to take on Drogheda United.
The Saints have been unsettled by injuries picked up on their last visit to the county against Dundalk and were disappointing against the Hoops.
But Stephen Kenny has been keen to stress the positives this week having felt his side were dismissed from being in a title race before the start of the season.
The former Republic of Ireland boss stated: "I think at the start of the season we were completely written off in many quarters and people didn't think that we'd be in contention to be one of the challengers at the top.
"We've had an exceptional start in that regard early on, up to last week. And that was a setback for us and we've lost a couple of players but any of the players that we've lost are short-term.
"From our point of view, we scored a lot of goals this season and the players have played really well. The league is unforgiving. We were flying it and you get the setback like we did. We want that week back.
"We can't have it back because we lost twice, but it gives you an opportunity to address that really.
"If we win in Drogheda, we're in a good position, and that's how we have to approach the game."
Another team riding on that feeling of being underestimated is Dundalk, who have surpassed all expectations with just a single defeat in 11 matches.
As Galway United travel to Oriel Park, few would have predicted this game would be fourth versus fifth in the table during the second quarter of the season.
Newcomer to men’s Premier Division management Ciaran Kilduff has proved astute in both recruitment and motivational techniques so far, while his opposite number John Caulfield has demonstrated why he is still a master of the profession.
Kilduff sees tonight's fixture as "key" as Dundalk look to stay inside the top half: "Galway United will be a really tough test for us. They're a team in really good form at the moment and scoring goals in a rich vein of form, so we know we’ll have to continue to be at our best. We’re proud of our home form, but nothing will be taken for granted. It’s a key game for us and we know we have to do what we can to win it.
"Our support has been amazing, and I hope the energy is good on and off the pitch. That makes a huge difference for the players. We are looking forward to a good game."
Daryl Horgan returns from a ban tonight for the Lilywhites.
If is to be a multi-faceted battle for the title, either Shelbourne or Derry City need to reel off victories and can start doing so in tonight's fixture at Tolka Park.
Tiernan Lynch is very much on the ropes with a City side 11 points off the pace.
The Reds are only two better off, albeit with a game in hand, and will hope to improve a shabby home record so far that has yet to produce a victory.
Lynch believes his side are putting the required effort in to win matches.
He said: "I think that the best indicator of a team is how hard they work. They certainly don't need to be coaxed day in, day out to do the work.
"Even in Dundalk, we were hugely disappointed with the second goal that we conceded to let them back into the game.
"The first goal was 25-30 yards out, and being hypercritical we probably could have got to the ball a bit quicker.
"You see the work ethic in that group of boys and throwing themselves in front of the ball.
"There’s bits and pieces we need to do better in both boxes but they’re things we’re just working on on a daily basis to try and put right."
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