Galway United head to the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium on Friday night aiming to continue their strong recent form against Derry City. The Tribesmen have won two of the last three Premier Division meetings between the sides, including a 2-1 home victory in June.
John Caulfield's side arrive in confident mood after a 3-1 win away to Sligo Rovers last weekend. That result was part of a run that has seen them take ten points from their last five outings, a sequence that includes victories over Dundalk and Drogheda United. They currently sit sixth in the Premier Division with 37 points from 30 games.
Derry City, one place and three points ahead in fifth, are also in decent form. They are unbeaten in three, having drawn 2-2 with Waterford after back-to-back wins over Shelbourne and Dundalk. Their last home defeat in the league was a 5-3 reverse against Bohemians in late August.
Recent head-to-head
The recent history favours the visitors. Galway United won the most recent clash 2-1 at Eamonn Deacy Park on June 19th. The sides also drew 1-1 in Derry in May, with Galway claiming a 2-1 home win back in April. You can review the full head-to-head record and more on our stats page.
Galway's attack has been potent, scoring 41 league goals this season. Top scorer M. Dyer has ten of those, while Stephen Walsh and Jimmy Keohane were on target in the recent win over Sligo. Keohane netted twice from the penalty spot in that match.
Team news and context
Caulfield named an unchanged starting eleven for the Sligo victory, deploying a 3-1-4-2 formation. Hugo Alberto Pires da Cunha kept goal behind a back three of O. Williams, A. O'Connor and Gianfranco Facchineri. Connor Barratt anchored the midfield ahead of them.
Derry manager Ruaidhrí Higgins last set his team up in a 3-4-3 shape against Waterford, with Tom Norcott in goal. Key attacking threats include L. Boyce and M. Duffy.
This match is a key fixture in the battle for a top-half finish. A win for Galway would see them leapfrog Derry into fifth place. Following this clash, Galway United's next fixture is at home to St Patrick's Athletic on Friday, September 25th. The full schedule for the run-in is available on our fixtures page. Kick-off in the Brandywell is set for 19:45 local time on Friday, September 18th.
