Shamrock Rovers hoping to maintain league lead

League leaders Shamrock Rovers will be looking to stay top of the table when they take on Galway United at Terryland Park tonight (kick-off 7.35pm).

For Rovers, Chris Turner (calf) and Ronan Finn (knee) will face fitness tests before the game, while Gary Twigg, Stephen O’Donnell and Craig Sives (all hamstring injuries) are all ruled out of the tie.

Gary McCabe returns to the squad after his recent suspension.

Hoops boss Michael O’Neill said: “It is an opportunity for us to finish the first round of games on 20 points, which would be a very good return.

“We’ll be expecting a tough game from Galway. While they didn’t have much time or funding to put a squad together, Sean Connor is always good at getting players in, and getting them to play for him. So we are not expecting it to be easy.

“It will be another game where we will have to set the tempo, which is something we expect to have to do a lot this season. But the more we do that, the better we will get at it. So we are looking forward to the game.”

United are boosted by the return of Alan Murphy and Shaun Maher to the squad after both players passed fitness tests.

Gary Curran remains out with a broken metatarsal, while Joseph Yoffe also remains out with an ankle injury.

United manager Sean Connor said: "I'm really looking forward to the game and seeing how my players react to this challenge.

“With the game being on television, it gives us a chance to show people what we're capable of. We are on a poor run of form at the moment, but that can be turned around with a big performance."