Date: August 1, 2014
Venue: Carlisle Grounds, Bray, Republic of Ireland
Kick off Time: 19:45 BST
The two bottom sides of the League of Ireland are going to cross swords on Friday evening as Bray Wanderers will be up against Athlone Town at the Carlisle Grounds in Bray.
The visitors are placed last in the table currently and have already been relegated. The home team will be looking to seal victory as they look to move up the standings and ensure that they do not have to feature in the Premier Division playoffs for next season.
Bray Wanderers’ Form
L-L-L-L-L
The home side are winless in their last five matches. They lost 5-1 in their last match against Dundalk while Shamrock Rovers beat them 3-0 a couple of weeks ago. The defeat to Shamrock came in the aftermath of a 5-0 hammering at the hands of Derry City.
Bray will be looking for someone to shine for them on the pitch on Friday and give them some hope. As things stand, although they are not in danger of relegation, the Wanderers will finish their regular season pretty poorly.
Athlone Town’s Form
L-L-W-L-D
Athlone suffered a couple of defeats on the trot to Bohemian FC and Derry City coming into this game although they were able to defeat 9th placed Limerick FC the preceding week quite convincingly. Athlone were able to inflict a 3-0 defeat to Limerick back on July 11.
They went down to Derry City back on July 6 after fighting their way to a 2-2 draw against Bohemian FC in their match on June 27.
Although their current form is pretty poor, Athlone have been able to take some points off their opponents in the recent past. This team will be very motivated to do well on Friday.
Key Players
Bray Wanderers: Ismahil Akinade
The 20 year old Nigerian forward will hold the key for the home side this week when they welcome Athlone to the Carlisle Grounds. The youngster has shown his qualities this season and the fans will hope of a good showing.
Athlone Town: Philip Gorman
32 year old veteran forward Philip Gorman will be crucial to the travelling team’s hopes. He scored a brace against Limerick on July 11 and will be looking for an encore when he takes the field on Friday.
Betting Advice
This game is going to be a tight affair with both teams looking to defend well. The stats show us that both teams have had difficulties finding the back of the net this season and hence, a draw would seem like a possible result, I don’t expect these odds to last so take the 3.25 from bet365 now for a stalemate.
Also looking at under +2.5 goals to be scores in the game for which bet365 offers 2.0.