Dundalk hoping to push five points clear of Rovers

Dundalk can push five points clear of third-placed Shamrock Rovers with victory at Oriel Park tonight, kick-off 7.45pm.

However, manager Ian Foster must plan without in-form midfielder JJ Melligan who is still recovering from a calf injury.

And creative midfielder Alan Cawley remains on the sidelines for the Lilywhites as he recovers from a fractured cheekbone.

Cawley is back training and should return to the Dundalk squad over the next couple of weeks.

Pat Sullivan (knee), Craig Sives (calf), Don Cowan (groin) and Enda Stevens (groin) are all sidelined for the Hoops.

But Stephen Bradley, Sean O’Connor and Chris Turner are all back training and available for selection.

Rovers manager Michael O’Neill said: “Dundalk reacted very well to the home defeat by Bray last week by getting a good win in their derby game in Drogheda on Friday.

“They’ve been on a good run, so we’ll be expecting a tough game up there. But we always are against Dundalk.

“We let ourselves down against them last time out, so we certainly don’t want that to happen again.”