There's five games in the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division tonight, the last full round of fixtures before the players head away for two weeks of recovery and holidays.
Many of the players across different clubs might well head abroad for some sun before returning to Ireland.
It led Damien Duff to this week compare Dublin Airport tomorrow morning to the scene in Mike Bassett: England Manager, where the England, Ireland and Scotland teams bump into one another at the airport before the World Cup, and chaos ensues.
It will likely be all together more civil at Collinstown tomorrow.
Shamrock Rovers' top-of-the-table clash with St Patrick's Athletic is the standout fixture.
The second-placed Saints are five points behind the reigning champions with a game in hand. If Stephen Kenny's men were to plunder victory, the title race would be blown wide open.
Bohemians suffered a painful late loss to the Hoops last Monday and will look to bounce back against Sligo Rovers, who gave the chasing pack hope a week ago when they nicked a brilliant win against Shamrock Rovers in Tallaght.
Drogheda United v Waterford, Sullivan and Lambe Park, 7.45pm
The Drogs shared the spoils with bitter rivals Dundalk in last week's Louth derby.
Kevin Doherty's men are eighth but could jump up to sixth if they win and results go their way. That would represent a very satisfactory first half of the season, and pretty much extinguish any fears they'll finish bottom.
Waterford are cut adrift at the foot of the table, 10 points behind Drogheda coming into this one. Two weeks ago the Blues picked up their first win of the season when they beat the Drogs 2-1, thanks to Tommy Lonergan's injury-time penalty.
Doherty was furious about the decision to award that spot-kick so he'll be hungry for revenge here, while opposite number Graham Coughlan will be hopeful of picking up something to nourish belief Waterford can claw their way out of trouble.
Coughlan said: "We would've spoken earlier in the week with the players about last week’s game against Shelbourne. It was a tough one to take for the players [with the late goal conceded], and like I said to them after the game let’s bottle up this anger and frustration and bring it into the game against Drogheda tomorrow now."
Team news
Drogheda United: Scott Brady, Owen Lambe, Bridel Bosakani, James Bolger, Conor Keeley and Jason Bucknor are injured. Warren Davis is doubtful after picking up an injury in the first half against Dundalk.
Waterford: Luke Heeney is suspended for Waterford after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season last weekend in Tolka Park. Jordan Houston is a doubt, while Finlay Armstrong (quad) & Evan McLaughlin (foot) remain out.
Dundalk v Derry City, Oriel Park, 7.45pm
Dundalk had to settle for a point in Drogheda but they are still arguably the story of the season so far. Ciaran Kilduff's newly promoted outfit have been terrific on their return to the top flight. They are fourth and will stay there for the mid-season break if they can turn over sixth-placed Derry.
"Everyone can see it week in, week out, this is a competitive league where any side, on any given night, is capable of beating anyone else," said Kilduff.
"We're now at the halfway point of the season and satisfied with where we are, but you don't get anything for half a good season. There's a long way to go, plenty of big games ahead, and it starts tonight."
Derry held Shels to a draw at Celtic Park last Monday but they've been very hot and cold this year. Tiernan Lynch's men have won just four of their 19 league games - way off the pace for a side with pre-season title aspirations. If they lose here the Candystripes could end the night in eight position.
Lynch is expecting a different kind of challenge against Derry than Shels presented.
"It's going to be a very different game from Monday night," Lynch said. "Shelbourne were very difficult to break down and got lots of numbers behind the ball. Dundalk will be very different, especially at home if they come out and get after us which will definitely create space."
Team news
Dundalk: Harvey Warren has a hamstring injury. Daryl Horgan is being assessed after he was forced to withdraw from last week's draw at Drogheda United with a shoulder problem. Ronan Teahan will also be assessed ahead of the match, while JR Wilson returns from suspension. Mayowa Animasahun, Conor O'Keeffe, Vinnie Leonard, Norman Garbett and Conor Kearns remain unavailable.
Derry City: To follow
Shelbourne v Galway United, Tolka Park, 7.45pm
Shelbourne come into this game chasing a consecutive home win for the first time this season, following their victory over Waterford last week.
That win was Shels' first of the season at Tolka Park, illustrating their issues on their own patch and manager Joey O'Brien will be hoping that they can start to make Tolka Park an uncomfortable place for visitors.
A scoreless draw away to Derry on Monday was a just reward for a backs to the wall display against their hosts but back on home soil, O'Brien will be looking for a more dominant performance from his side.
Galway United continue to flirt with the relegation zone, sitting just a point ahead of Sligo Rovers in the play-off spot.
A 4-2 defeat to Bohemians on Monday again exposed their defensive frailties and John Caulfield will be hoping to find a way to shore things up at the back as they travel to Dublin.
With just one win in their last seven games - those three points courtesy of a 4-1 win in Sligo - Galway need to start putting results together to avoid being dragged into a dogfight. They do however have games in hand over the teams around.
The Tribesmen have been better away from home this season and they'll need to continue that trends as they're poised for an extended spell away from Eamonn Deacy with drainage works there set to keep them out until August. A temporary move to Pearse Stadium is expected, but not yet confirmed.
Team news to follow.
Sligo Rovers v Bohemians, the Showgrounds, 7.45pm
The Bit O'Red massively lifted morale with a stunning late win at Shamrock Rovers last week.
They're still second from bottom, but the performance and result has injected Sligo with a bit of much-needed confidence.
"We can't wait," said boss John Russell. "The boys have had a good bounce off last week and we know we're a match for anyone at the Showgrounds. It's our last game for a few weeks here and we're looking to sign off on the first half of the year on a high."
Bohs were unbeaten in five before their own late drama against Shamrock Rovers on Monday night. They'll be desperate to return to winning ways after conceding a last-gasp goal that handed their Dublin rivals an away win.
"That's sometimes where a quick turnaround between games is a good thing," manager Alan Reynolds said. "After losing the way we did, you just want to get back out on to the pitch and put things right.
"Obviously everyone at the club was hurting on Monday night but as soon as we get back into training as a group, you have to take what’s gone before on the chin, move on from it and get back to work.
"It's another tough game," added Reynolds. "Everyone knows how good Sligo can be - they went to Tallaght last week and beat Shamrock Rovers in injury-time so we are under no illusions about how good they can be."
Team news
Sligo Rovers: Jad Hakiki looks likely miss the remainder of the season after he underwent surgery on a foot injury this week. Archie Meekison will miss approximately the next eight weeks with a knee injury. Seb Quirk's return date is set for mid-to late July following a hamstring tear. Defenders Conor Reynolds and Sean Stewart also miss out, as does midfielder James McManus who cannot play, owing to the terms of his loan deal from Bohs.
Bohemians: Markuss Strods (quad) and Senan Mullen (hamstring) are out. Captain Dawson Devoy is available for selection before linking up with the Republic Ireland squad on Saturday ahead of their friendly next week away to Canada.
Shamrock Rovers v St Patrick's Athletic, Tallaght Stadium, 8pm
It was a smash and grab, but Hoops fans didn't care as they wildly celebrated a 2-1 win at Dalymount Park that nudged the reigning champions five points clear at the summit.
Stephen Bradley said "they are special nights, there’s no doubt about that", though there ugly scenes at the full-time whistle when an on-pitch scuffle between players and coaches ensued.
Goalkeeper Ed McGinty and Adam Brennan are in with the Republic of Ireland seior squad and won't be available tonight.
And Bradley is braced for a serious test against the Saints. "We’ve done well against them so far this season, winning both games," he said.
"They’ve been two close games, and we know (tonight) will be the same. We’re coming into it in a really good place and looking forward to it, but we respect Pat's, they’ve got good players, especially in the attacking part of the pitch."
The Saints have lost twice to Rovers already this season and manager Stephen Kenny will be eager to avoid a third successive defeat to their Dublin rivals.
Kenny's side last beat Rovers at Tallaght in 2024 but they travel in hope this time and with just one defeat in their last seven games the Saints will be confident they can claim a win and close the gap on the league leaders to just two points.
"It should be a really good, open game against Rovers in Tallaght," said Kenny. "That is what you expect. We have to dust ourselves down after a pretty scrappy draw last week in Derry, so we now have to get ourselves ready and perform to the level that we know we can."
Team news:
Shamrock Rovers: Victor Ozhianvuna has a back injury which will keep him out for a couple of weeks. Danny Grant also picked up a knock against Bohs and is being monitored. Maleace Asamoah remains out.
St Pats: To follow.
