Tolka Park (8pm Wednesday)

League Cup Quarter-Finals

SHELBOURNE

Shelbourne are by far and away the best team in this country at the minute and while this Cup might not be top of their wanted list, it now takes on more importance after their heavy Intertoto Cup loss coupled with the FAI Cup draw. On Sunday, Shels travelled to the Odense Stadion to take on top Danish side Odense Boldklub hoping to take back a narrow defeat at worst. Things didn't go to plan, however, as Shels fell 2-0 behind by the break after Morten Fevang capitalised on two defensive mistakes by the Tolka outfit to shoot Odense into a comfortable lead. Just after the interval, Shels earned a penalty that would have given them a route back into the tie but the ever-dependable Jason Byrne missed and left Pat Fenlon's charges with a mountain to climb. Fevang went on to complete his hat-trick to effectively end the tie while Byrne picked up a caution that rules him out of the return leg on Richmond Road next Sunday. That suspension and the manner of the defeat in Denmark would suggest that Fenlon will play a strong team tonight in order to nail down the first silverware of the season.

After last nights results, that put Derry City, Bohemians and Limerick FC into the hat for the semi-finals, Shelbourne know that if they win tonight and avoid a tie with Derry City in the next round then they're as good as in the Final. Following the FAI Cup last sixteen draw, where Shels found a home encounter with Derry, there is absolutely no certainty about their passage to the Quarter-Finals (Derry knocked them out of the FAI Cup in Tolka last season) so they will be well up for winning this competition that would give them an early place in next years lucrative cross-border Setanta Cup. If they go about this in the right way tonight, Shels should comfortably advance to the last four as they are a country mile ahead of Finn Harps. Harps have visited Tolka Park three times in the last two years and on all three occasions lost, with two of those losses being by a three-goal margin. Since that, Shels have strengthened their squad considerably while the Donegal club have lost their star-man in Kevin McHugh. High-flying St.Patricks Athletic were the last team to visit Shels on the domestic scene and were easily brushed aside. Tonight should be no different!

FINN HARPS

By their own standards, Finn Harps have had a terrible year in the league. Last season Harps had their first foray into the Premier Division for four years and only won five times in thirty-three outings, finishing bottom of the section and were relegated back to the second tier. They were expected to challenge strongly for the title once again having finished second, second and third before winning the division in 2004 that gained them promotion. But things haven't gone to plan since their step down in leagues with the Ballybofey club sitting sixth in a table of ten with just four wins from fifteen games this term. Their defence has been one of the main problems with Anthony Gormans men having the third worst backline in the division having conceded nineteen goals. They have scored quite a few as well, twenty-four in all, but most of them have come in blocks rather than being spread out over the matches. In the last round of this competition, Harps were lucky to get a home tie with draw specialists Galway United with the game finishing 1-1 after 120 minutes.

Galway had led until the 88th minute before Harps shocked the Tribesmen with a late strike to send the match into overtime. Harps progressed on penalties but it seems this is as far as the adventure goes with the chances of them winning in Tolka very slim. If the rules of the tournament was a replay after a draw, then they might be able to force Shels to travel to Finn Park but with Harps having to take a victory out of Richmond Road to progress, it appears their stay in this Cup is about to be terminated. Their away form has been very poor recently with just one point being gained from the last nine on offer. They went to St.Mels and Buckley Park, suffering 1-0 losses on both occasions while their last away day trip seen them travel to Graveyard Century Homes Park where they were unable to find the net, having to settle for a scoreless draw. Harps have a First Division quality team now and the last time they met Shels with this kind of personnel to choose from was in the FAI Cup in July 2004. That night, Harps were whipped 4-1 so the result shouldn't really be in question here. They have a very tough trip to Cobh on Saturday so they may not play a full-strength side tonight.

THIS SEASONS FORM, PAST MEETINGS & TEAM NEWS

Last Four Meetings:
Oct 28th 2005: Shelbourne 1-0 Finn Harps (League)
Sep 23rd 2005: Finn Harps 0-3 Shelbourne (League)
May 06th 2005: Shelbourne 3-0 Finn Harps (League)
Jul 24th 2004: Shelbourne 4-1 Finn Harps (FAI Cup)

Shelbournes Home Form This Season:
4-0 FK Vetra (Intertoto Cup)
3-0 St.Patricks Athletic
4-1 Bray Wanderers
1-0 Derry City
2-0 Bohemians
2-1 Drogheda United
1-0 Dublin City
0-0 Longford Town

Finn Harps Away Form This Season:
0-0 Monaghan United
0-1 Kilkenny City
0-1 Athlone Town
3-1 Dundalk FC
1-2 Limerick FC
1-1 Galway United
5-2 Kilkenny City

Shelbourne: Winger Liam Kearney has had his contract at Shels frozen. 'He came to me and asked to take a break for personal reasons,' said boss Pat Fenlon. 'Liam's just lost a little bit of his appetite for the game at the moment and hopefully he'll get it back. We'll speak to him in a month or two and see how he is.' Gary O'Neill remains out while Colin Hawkins is unlikely to be risked.

Finn Harps: Boosted by their win over league leaders Limerick on Saturday, Harps travel to Tolka in optimistic mood with midfielder Barry Curran their only injury concern.

VERDICT

This should be an easy win for the home side although odds of 1/3 won't make you rich quick. Shels are on a different planet to Harps and should make their advantage count by at least two on the scoreboard. The Tolka Park outfit have just returned from Sundays heavy loss in Denmark so may be a little tired and a quiet opening to the game would be no surprise.

This is a big game for both sides but for Shels it may be more so. Harps need to start climbing the table soon and have a very tough game in Cobh in three days so they may be best to aim for a win there, rather than here. Jason Byrne should start tonight and grab the first goal.

The Pick :

Shelbourne 2-0 (or 3-0) Finn Harps

PERCENTAGE ESTIMATE :

73% Shels - 25% Draw - 2% Finn Harps

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

Shels to win @ 1.34 (Betfair)
Shels HT-FT @ 8/13 (PaddyPower)