Football Tips: Bank Holiday Monday’s League Of Ireland best bets

Our tipster Andrew Cunneen scours the scene in the League Of Ireland on Monday.

Irish Football Tips

5pm: Cork City v Bohemians – Bohs to Win to Nil
5pm: Dundalk v UCD – Both Teams to Score
6pm: Sligo Rovers v Shamrock Rovers – Sligo Rovers and the Draw
6.45pm: St. Pat’s v Derry City – Both Teams to Score
7.45pm: Shelbourne v Drogheda United – Shels to Win

*An acca on these selections adds up to around 43/1 with Paddy Power. TAP HERE TO ADD TO YOUR BETSLIP INSTANTLY.

As it’s now the halfway stage, it feels as good a time as any to make alterations to our preseason expectations and to finally confirm or deny the thoughts that we’ve been sticking to out of bitterness.

So, let’s start with Shamrock Rovers. They’ve absolutely shown that despite massive suspension issues due to picking up seven red cards in eighteen games – the same figure as the league leaders in this category for the entirety of last season – their squad is deep enough to handle the strenuous nature of fixture congestion.

We’ve also confirmed that despite being brilliant in isolation, Drogheda’s tiny budget cannot withstand two games in four days. Bohemians’ wave of momentum has solidified into confidence and with the return of James Akintunde, now look a great bet to finish in European spots.

Damien Duff might annoy people, but he also annoys the opposition by refusing to ever allow them to score. Sligo Rovers look an academy side due to their inconsistency and youthful nature, while St. Pat’s, Derry City and Dundalk all have the capacity to look both the best and worst side in the division. Now, to those dreaded Monday fixtures.

5pm: Cork City v Bohemians – Bohs to Win to Nil

Jonathan Afolabi not being a goal scorer is now confirmed, too – and while that was potentially going to be an issue due to a lack of a consistent goal scorer behind him, the emergence of Akintunde on Friday suggests they’ll create enough matchup nightmares for teams to diversify their source of scoring goals.

Cork City have won three on the spin, and while six weeks ago, I’d have said they wouldn’t win three games all season, they’ve benefitted from playing a part-time team and eight men in successive weeks. Still, it’s Bohs to Win to Nil.

5pm: Dundalk v UCD – Both Teams to Score

Something’s rotten in the state of Denmark. It sounds close enough to think there’s an outside chance that Hamlet had been up to Oriel Park on a Friday night, no? After Stephen O’Donnell kept Dundalk in the dressing rooms at Inchicore for over an hour last week, their defeat to Shamrock Rovers has just elongated that miserable feeling.

UCD won’t pose much of existential threat to them, but they did take a point here on the opening day of the season, and have been finding the net more regularly in recent weeks. I fancy Both Teams To Score here.

6pm: Sligo Rovers v Shamrock Rovers – Sligo Rovers and the Draw

Sligo Rovers take so much offence when you simply refer to them as Sligo, and that’s primarily down to their love affair with their suffix. So in a sense, this is a Rovers derby to them, and they always end up raising their game significantly.

The Tallaght-based Rovers unit did indeed dispatch of Dundalk quite easily, but it’s a fair assessment to say that while they are more than capable to deal with the Friday/Monday turnaround, having your starting XI turn over like that is tough in the space of four days and you don’t benefit from the momentum at all.

It’s probably the only reason that they’re not further ahead of Derry City. We’ll take Sligo Rovers and The Draw Double Chance.

6.45pm: St. Pat’s v Derry City – Both Teams to Score

Let me tell you – these two serve up belters because they’re both much better on the counter than they are in possession and the transitions produce moments of sheer madness. Jon Daly is in the job now and despite the initially cold reception, they’ve won four of their last five so it’s impossible to back against them at home knowing that.

But I’d also say the likelihood of them keeping a clean sheet when they’re facing a Derry side that excel away from home is optimistic at best given they so easily lost focus against UCD while coasting. It’s Both Teams to Score again in this one.

7.45pm: Shelbourne v Drogheda United – Shels to Win

There’s a very specific checklist you must go through when you back a Drogheda game. Are they playing against a team they can’t realistically be expected to beat, and is it on a Friday? If the answer is no to both of those, they’ll likely fall short.

As displayed against Rovers, Kevin Doherty knows how to beat better teams quite frequently but unless you’re UCD, they’re going to struggle to find space because their midfield is solid in nature and can’t commit enough bodies forward to really open up the space. Shels’ defensive record will aid them here again in a home win.

Monday Football tips

5pm: Cork City v Bohemians – Bohs to Win to Nil
5pm: Dundalk v UCD – Both Teams to Score
6pm: Sligo Rovers v Shamrock Rovers – Sligo Rovers and the Draw
6.45pm: St. Pat’s v Derry City – Both Teams to Score
7.45pm: Shelbourne v Drogheda United – Shels to Win

*An acca on these selections adds up to around 43/1 with Paddy Power. TAP HERE TO ADD TO YOUR BETSLIP INSTANTLY.

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