Shelbourne can take a giant stride towards winning the SSE Airtricity Premier Division title as they meet Dublin rivals Bohemians in a rearranged match at Dalymount Park.
Having lost top spot for the first time in months, Shels hit the summit again last Friday with a 1-0 success in Dundalk as Derry City were beaten by Galway United.
That seemed like a real turning point in the title race as once again Derry were undone by their own inconsistency and weakness.
Damien Duff’s side have long held this game in hand since it was postponed in June as a fall-back option if they were to lose their advantage.
Now they make the short trip to Phibsborough knowing they can lead by six points with just seven matches remaining.
Bohs eased their relegation worries with a 2-1 victory in another Dublin derby with Shamrock Rovers last Sunday.
In doing so the Hoops look to have relinquished their challenge with their dominance of the competition set to end with four in-a-row.
The Gypsies are unlikely to make a European push given their poor season, but this is another chance for Alan Reynolds to reduce the pressure having failed to produce enough victories since taking the job six months ago.
Last week was just a third win in his time in the league and maintaining momentum before next week’s FAI Cup quarter-final with UCD is just as important.
The main focus is on Shels as they look to win an unlikely league title in just their third season under Duff.
In a major lift, Sean Boyd returns from injury. Aiden O’Brien has proved a difference maker since joining in the transfer window and is likely to keep his place.
He bagged the winner in Oriel Park last week.
The biggest rivalry in Dublin is the cross-city clash of Bohemians and Shamrock Rovers, yet the Shels boss feels this game is unique.
He said: “This is a fixture with pure edge. Other derbies in the country just don’t have it in the same way and can’t replicate it.
“The edge in a Bohs-Shels game is unrivalled; there’s nothing quite like it. It means a lot to the players, staff, and supporters, and we know what we have to do to win it.
“It’s one of the toughest places in this league to go and get three points. Our fans should know that with what they saw last time, they’ll be getting that tenfold on Friday. I know the players are willing to do anything it takes to win the game.”
With just this single fixture on tonight, and the expectations of edging towards a title, Duff is backing his players to cope.
As has become a regular feature, he feels others will watch on hoping they fail to produce.
Derry City most certainly will be as they aim to stay in the race.
Duff explained: “That’s what comes with being top of the table and being a team that not many people like. We can’t pick and choose when to enjoy being disliked.
“We have to relish it and use it to our advantage. It’s a challenge, but we’ll embrace it, and we’ll have to match it.”
Reynolds feels Shels will bring their high-energy game from the start.
He said: Listen, this is going to be a really tough test for us. Shelbourne are top of the league for a reason and I expect that they will come to Dalymount to have a real go at us.
“They are not going to come here to sit off, they’ll come and attack us, so we have to be ready for that.
“We have had a couple of really good performances now and we performed well against them two weeks ago but we will have to be better than that again because Shelbourne have real quality that can hurt you.”
Martin Miller is away on international duty with Estonia, but James Akintunde returns from injury.
Rob Cornwall and Keith Buckley remain out.
