[Diomed]

tonights League Cup previews



Preview: Athlone Town v Kilkenny City

Athlone Town will be hoping for a repeat of their win over Kilkenny City earlier in the year as the two sides meet in the second round of the eircom League Cup in Lissywoollen tonight.

Athlone won that early season game 3-0 but have slipped up a little in recent weeks and are just three points ahead of Kilkenny in the First Division of the eircom League of Ireland.

Athlone lost to Cobh heavily at the weekend and will be hoping to pick themselves up. While Athlone may have lost 3-0, Kilkenny lost 5-0 on their trip to face Finn Harps.

Ian Rossiter returns after suspension to leave Athlone near full strength.

Andrzej Polenwcak sits out game four of his eight game ban for the Cats.

Previous meeting(s) : Athlone Town 3-0 Kilkenny City (10/03/2007)
Kilkenny City 2-2 Athlone Town (04/11/2006)
Athlone Town 3-0 Kilkenny City (08/09/2006)
Kilkenny City 0-2 Athlone Town (08/07/2006)
Athlone Town 0-0 Kilkenny City (22/04/2006)
IrishFootballOnline.com Prediction: Home win.

Preview: Derry City v Galway United

Derry City and Galway United meet again after drawing 1-1 at Terryland Park on Friday night in the eircom League. Tonight it's a League Cup second round tie as Derry City begin their defence of the trophy.

Derry fans will be hoping for an improvement from their side after their recent league and Setanta Cup woes. They now have not won in their last four games, have won once in eleven and have won just one of their eight games at the Brandywell in 2007.

Galway have picked up six of their seven league points in their last four games, winning once and drawing three. They have also drawn away to Cork City this year.

Gary Beckett, Kevin Deery and Alan Moore look set to remain Derry's biggest injury concerns while Alan Murphy is again doubtful for the Tribesmen. Galway also plan without Alan Keane and Chris Armstrong.

Derry have won the League Cup in each of the last two seasons and are going for three in a row. However, it's worth noting that while at Shelbourne, manager Pat Fenlon won the league three times but never won any of the cup competitions.

Previous meeting(s) : Galway United 1-1 Derry City (04/05/2007)
Derry City 2-1 Galway United (26/06/2005)
Galway United 0-1 Derry City (23/07/2004)
Galway United 2-1 Derry City (17/08/2003)
IrishFootballOnline.com Prediction: Home win.

Preview: Cobh Ramblers v Waterford United

There will be plenty of familiar faces as Cobh Ramblers host Waterford United at Saint Colman's Park in the second round of the eircom League Cup tonight. A number of Waterford's pre-season signings came from Ramblers.

Ken Coleman and Jamie Nolan are both injury doubts for the home side but Waterford wait on the fitness of John Hayes and Stephen Cooling.

Tonight's game marks the third year in a row that Cobh have hosted Waterford in the early rounds of the League Cup. Waterford won in the second round in 2005 while Cobh ran out 2-0 winners in the First Round last year.

Ramblers go into the game unbeaten in eight games while the Blues stopped the rot with a last gasp equaliser against Drogheda on Friday night.

Previous meeting(s) : Cobh Ramblers 2-0 Waterford United (04/04/2006)
Cobh Ramblers 0-1 Waterford United (21/06/2005)
IrishFootballOnline.com Prediction: Home win.

Preview: Shelbourne v Bohemians

Shels and Bohs meet for possibly the only time this year as they clash in the second round of the eircom League at Tolka Park tonight. The game could mark the return of former Shels captain Owen Heary to Tolka since he left for Bohs in the close season.

Glen Crowe is another who could line out for Bohs against club of last season.

Bohs will be expected to advance against a side struggling in the First Division although Bohs lack of goals is still a major worry.

Conor Rafferty, Niall O'Reilly and Davitt Walsh are all on loan to Shelbourne from Bohs and are ruled out but James Chambers returns after suspension.

Bohemians still have injury problems with Harpal Singh, Dessie Byrne and Dean Pooley all set to remain on the injured list. Mark Rossiter also looks set for some time on the sidelines after leaving the pitch on a stretcher on Friday night.

Previous meeting(s) : Shelbourne 2-1 Bohemians (17/11/2006)
Bohemians 2-1 Shelbourne (18/08/2006)
Shelbourne 1-0 Bohemians (07/08/2006)
Shelbourne 2-0 Bohemians (19/05/2006)
Bohemians 0-3 Shelbourne (18/11/2005)
IrishFootballOnline.com Prediction: Away win.