Saint Patrick's Athletic v Bohemians
Football: Republic of Ireland, Premier League 2009
Tuesday, 11th August 2009 - Kickoff 7.45pm

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ST PATRICKS ATHLETIC
(7th place - Home Form : W4 D2 L5)

St Pats got one of Irish football's great results in European Football when they knocked out Russian side Sovietov last Thursday on away goals. Sovietov's side contained experienced players such as Jan Koller and Jiri Jarosik and St Pats came from 3-0 down to get 2 late goals to level it 3-3 on aggregate. A 1-0 win in the home leg ensured St Pats advance to next round of the Europa Cup where they will face Steau Bucharest.

However the league form of St Patricks has been indifferent all season and they remain in the bottom half of the League Of Ireland table.

They still have work to do to stay clear of the relegation play off positions and even bottom side Bray, who they are only 8 points clear of. Their league form has not been too good of late. In their last 6 games they have won 2 but lost 4. They did manage a 1-0 win against Dundalk in their last league outing and also shocked Bohemians with a 3-1 win earlier in the season in this fixture.

St Pats will be without their star player of the moment Declan O Brien. O Brien has scored vital goals in all their European games and has been excellent since he joined last month. Another important midfield player Gary Dempsey will be missing with a back injury not long after making his return from a broken leg. Strikers Mark Leech and Mark Quigley continue to miss out.

ST PATS LAST 5 - W2 D0 L3
Cork 0-1 St Pats
St Pats 1-2 Shamrock Rovers
St Pats 1-2 Galway
Sligo 2-0 St Pats
St Pats 1-0 Dundalk

BOHEMIANS
(1st place - Away Form W6 D2 L3)

Champions Bohs remain top of the league where they have been nearly all season. They are 3 points clear of second place Shamrock Rovers and 9 clear of third place Cork. Those 2 sides play each other on the same night so Bohs definitely have a chance to go further clear of at least one of those sides.

Bohemians suffered a shock defeat here in this fixture in early June by a 3-1 scoreline. However since then Bohs form has been terrific. They have played 7 times in the league and won 5 drawing the other 2. Even more impressive is that they have only conceded 2 goals in those 7 games.

However Bohs were knocked out of the Champions league qualifiers by Red Bull Salzburg 3 weeks ago thanks to a sloppy piece of defending late in the game. It was a major disappointment to the Dublin side but it does keep their minds firmly on their pursuit of the league title.

St Pats are still in Europe (with the Europa League) and its possible they may have one eye on next weeks European tie against Steau Bucharest.

BOHEMIANS LAST 5 GAMES - W3 D2 L0
DUNDALK 0-2 BOHS
BOHS 1-0 DERRY
BOHS 0-0 SHAMROCK ROVERS
DROGHEDA 1-1 BOHS
BOHS 1-0 CORK

THE BETTING VERDICT

Bohemians are on excellent form and conceding very few goals.
It's a BOHS WIN for me.

The Pick :

ST PATRICKS 0-1 BOHEMIANS

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

The 5/6 (1.83) for the BOHEMIANS WIN is well worth a bet.