Sligo welcome U21 stars for trip to Galway

The west of Ireland derby takes place tonight at Terryland Park as Galway United take on Sligo Rovers in the eircom League of Ireland Premier Division, kick-off 7.45pm.

United will be missing Regi Nooitmeer, who is out with knee ligament damage, and Stephen O'Flynn who is suspended for the game.

John Russell returns to the squad after a bout of flu caused his absence last Monday.

"Sligo are on a bit of a run at the moment and we will be looking for a huge improvement on the performance when we last met in Terryland," said Galway boss Tony Cousins.

"We have had some very good away performances recently and hopefully that will start to happen in Terryland."

He added: "The result in Drogheda was big result for us. I know the goals we scored were helped by a couple of goalkeeping errors but at the same time we were on the offensive and going all out to get something from the game."

"The team showed a lot of character and sheer guts and determination got us a result. We were never going to give up and that is a good habit to get into at this level of football."

For Sligo, new signings Matthew Gordan and James Meredith are available for selection and following impressive displays for the Under-21 side on Wednesday night.

Gavin Peers however, is a doubt and his chances are only rated at 50/50 - he will undergo a late fitness test prior to the game.