Stephen O'Donnell hopeful of continuing Dundalk's strong record in Derry

Dundalk will be looking for their third win in the space of seven days when they make the trip to the north-west to face League of Ireland table toppers Derry City later tonight.

The Lilywhites had a comfortable 5-0 win over St Pat's a week ago, before going on to secure a vital victory over Shels last Monday night 2-1, having trailed earlier in the contest. 

In what is becoming an intriguing league battle so far, Dundalk currently sit in third position, but are only three points behind the Candystripes ahead of this this crunch meeting at the Brandywell.

The Derry venue has been a happy hunting ground for the men from Oriel, who have lost just one of their last 18 games at the venue, a record that goes back as far as 2012. 

“We’re really looking forward to it" Head Coach Stephen O'Donnell told Dundalkfc.com.

"The Brandywell is always a good place to go and play. It’s a really big pitch so it suits good footballers and there’ll be a lot of them on the pitch on Friday.

“Derry are unbeaten in their opening four. They'll be riding the crest of a wave at the minute but our confidence is also high after the last two results. It'll be a good sort of measuring stick for where we are at, where our individuals are at and collectively where we're at.

“There are a lot of links between the clubs and there’s a really good sort of relationship there. Myself and Ruaidhri (Higgins) are really big friends and a lot of the lads who are here are friends with some of the players who moved to Derry. but that goes out the window once the match starts. You become friends again on Saturday, and hopefully, you have bragging rights."

Community engagement will prove essential to the development of Dundalk

The Commentary Box: The Gerry Malone Column

Johannes Yli-Kokko and Daniel Kelly are back in contention after missing the win over Shelbourne on Monday while Alfie Lewis, Robbie McCourt and Robbie Benson are also pushing for a start. Paul Doyle and Louie Annesley are doubtful while John Mountney (knee) is a long-term absentee.

Dundalk won both matches at the venue last season. In May, goals from Robbie Benson and Patrick Hoban secured a 2-1 win while Keith Ward’s solitary strike was enough to bag all three points on the final night of the season in November.

Kickoff at the Ryan McBride Brandywell is 7:45PM and you can watch the game live on LOITV.ie, with the stream costing €7 or a season pass that gets you access to every non televised game across the Premier Division, First Division and Women's National League costing €120.