Just one point separates Waterford United and Bohemians ahead of Friday's League of Ireland Premier Division meeting at Waterford Regional Sports Centre.
The hosts have collected four wins from their last five outings, while the visitors have claimed just one win in six matches.
Match preview
Waterford experienced an underwhelming start to the 2024 campaign, with their first 12 league matches producing just three victories.
However, Keith Long's side have since experienced an upturn in fortunes in recent weeks, claiming four wins in five matches, including three consecutive Sligo Rovers, Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk before losing to Shelbourne in their most recent away match.
They ultimately provided a swift response to that 1-0 loss, mounting a stunning comeback to beat Drogheda United 4-2 to move up to fifth spot, leaving them three points adrift of the European places with two games in hand.
Padraig Amond netted a 13-minute hat-trick to overturn a two-goal deficit, before Darragh Power found the net to help Waterford score four goals in a second straight home game.
Waterford will now turn their focus to Friday's contest, where they will attempt to beat Bohemians for the second time this season after recording a narrow victory in April's away fixture.
In contrast to their opponents, Bohemians have found wins hard to come by in recent times, having picked up maximum points in just one of their last six matches since recording three consecutive victories in the middle of April.
They have at least shown signs of promise in their last two fixtures, cruising to a commanding 3-0 away victory over Sligo before fighting back on two occasions to rescue a point in their most recent meeting with St Patrick's Athletic.
Substitute Danny Grant proved to be Bohemians' hero against St Patrick's, netting a 92nd-minute equaliser to rescue a 2-2 draw with his first goal since November.
Although they dropped down to sixth position, Bohemians are still firmly in the race for European qualification, with four points separating them from third-placed Shamrock, who have played two games more.
They will be hoping to close that gap on Friday, but they have struggled for consistency on their travels, having seen their eight away league games produce four wins and four defeats.
Team News
Waterford are still unable to call upon midfielder Barry Baggley, who is working on his recovery from a lower back issue.
Baggley's fellow Fleetwood Town loanee Harvey Macadam will have to be assessed after being forced off in the sixth minute against Drogheda.
After netting a hat-trick last time out, Amond will attempt to add to his eight-goal league tally when he leads the line against Bohemians.
Meanwhile, the visitors are still expected to be without the services of Luke Matheson, Jordan Flores, Dayle Rooney, Brian McManus, Keith Buckley and Rob Cornwall.
Midfielder James Clarke is set to return to the starting lineup after serving a one-match suspension for yellow card accumulation.
Dayle Rooney dropped out of the side for the draw with St Patrick's, but he is likely to return to the lineup for Friday's away fixture.
Waterford United possible starting lineup:
Sargeant; Power, Horton, Leahy, McCourt; McMenamy, McDonald, McCormack; Asamoah, Pattison, Amond
Bohemians possible starting lineup:
Chorazka; J McManus, Keita, Mills, Kirk; Flores, McDonnell; McDaid, Clarke, Rooney; Akintunde
We say: Waterford United 2-1 Bohemians
We expect Friday's contest to be a closely-fought affair between two teams separated by just one point after 17 league matches.
However, the hosts have momentum on their side following a run of four wins in five matches, and we think that extra confidence could give them the edge over Bohemians.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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