Bohemian F.C. vs St Patrick’s Athletic Preview
It’s the final of the Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup, and Bohemian F.C. takes on St Patrick’s Athletic. This year sees a repeat of the 2021 Sports Direct FAI Cup final which was settled on penalties. St Patrick’s was the narrow winner in an evenly matched contest, a goalless game until extra time. In the semi-finals, the Bohemians held off Galway after going down to ten men for the last half an hour. St Patrick’s scored in both halves to beat Cork City and book another appearance in the cup final.
This FAI Final is taking place at the Aviva Stadium on Sunday, November 12, at 3:00 PM. The 51,711-seater stadium has hosted the last 13 FAI Cup finals. It would take something special for the Bohemians to get revenge on the 2021 winners. They haven’t lifted the trophy since a 2008 victory against Derry City. St Patrick’s are hoping for their fifth win, taking them up to sixth on the all-time club leaderboard. Whichever way the final goes, both sides are lining up for a historic match.
Bohemian F.C. vs St Patrick’s Athletic Head-To-Head and Key Stats
Bohemian vs St Patrick’s has occurred 65 times over the past 15 years. Across those games, the two sides have won the same number of games. Both St Patrick’s and the Bohemians have won the fixture on 23 occasions and the result has been a draw 19 times.
Even though historically speaking, these two clubs seem evenly matched, there is still an advantage to St Patrick’s. In the last eight Premier Division meetings between the two clubs, the Bohemians only have two victories. There has only been one draw in that time with St Patrick’s winning five encounters. They also triumphed in the most recent meeting, a 0-2 game in late October 2023. The match was 0-0 at half time and two late goals secured the win for the away side. It was anything but a friendly game of soccer, as six players received a yellow card.
Even though the Premier Division finished, we can still look at the recent results for each club. St Patrick’s had an important fixture in the last week of the season. They took on Derry City, who was level with St Patrick’s on points going into the last game. Unfortunately, Derry put the game out of St Patrick’s reach inside the first half an hour, with two early goals. The final score was 3-0 to the home side, ending a promising season for the Athletic in third.
Bohemian hosted Cork City in their final game of the season. They would need to win and Dundalk to drop points to secure fifth place in the division. The Bohemians comfortably dispatched second bottom in the league by a scoreline of four goals to nil. In an otherwise impressive display, James Calrke went off injured in the 74th minute and could miss out on the Cup Final. Unfortunately for Bohemian F.C., Dundalk smashed UC Dublin to secure fifth in the Premier Division on the last day of the season.
Bohemian F.C. vs St Patrick’s Athletic Predictions
The last time these sides met in the FAI Cup final, St Patrick’s won the day 4-3 on penalties. However, it is the Bohemians who are favourites to win at the bookies. Looking at the betting odds at Novibet, Bohemian F.C. is the more likely to win at 5/4. A €10 wager on the Bohs would only return €22.50 if they win the game inside 90 minutes. The same value wager on St Patrick’s is worth €30, as they have odds of 2/1. A draw at full-time is the least likely outcome, with odds of 23/10.
Even though the two sides were level after 90 minutes last time around, they tied 1-1 after extra time. We think St Patrick’s will win on the day again. Even though they suffered a 3-0 defeat at the end of the season, they finished third in the division, three places higher than Bohemian. Neither side finished the season strongly, both losing two of their last three games. However, we can’t help but feel that history will repeat itself and the Saints will find a way to win in the FAI Cup final.
If you are going by form alone, the Bohemians won their final game of the season emphatically. They have scored six goals over their past four games; double what St Patrick’s have managed in the same period. It is never easy to account for league form when talking about a cup competition, but the Bohs certainly finished the season stronger. Is this momentum enough to secure their first FAI Cup in 15 years?
If we look at the ten most recent FAI Cup finals, on six occasions the game went to extra time. Of those six games, three of them required penalty kicks for a winner to be crowned. It seems likely that at least extra time or penalties will be involved this year, which makes betting on this soccer match even more difficult. We think St Patrick’s will win the match, but will they do enough to win inside 90 minutes? Betting on St Patrick’s winning in either extra time or penalties seems the most likely outcome.
Bohemian F.C. vs St Patrick’s Athletic Betting Tips
Betting on important soccer games can be nerve-wracking as mistakes can happen in big finals. Even though we expect St Patrick’s to win on the day, the Bohemians are the favourites at the bookies. That means the contest is in the balance and there is no way of knowing how the game will go until the match is underway.
To avoid any nasty surprises, you can wait until game day to place your bets. In-play betting is a legitimate way to wager on a soccer match, as you can watch and see how the game is going before wagering any money. If neither side comes out firing, then a draw after 90 minutes does not seem so farfetched. Plus, you can avoid situations such as an injury in the warmup to a star player. Waiting until the game is underway before you place a bet is a good way to go about a cup final.
Remember, the full-time markets available at an online sports betting platform do not account for extra time or penalties. That means you need to look through the betting options to find the wager that suits your needs. For example, placing a bet on St Patrick’s to win within regular time has odds of 2/1. But if you are more precise and bet on the Saints to win in a penalty shootout, your odds shoot up to 9/1. Placing a €10 bet for a team to win on penalties will see €100 returned if you predict the right team.
Plus, you don’t have to just bet on the outright winner of a soccer match. There are dozens of other markets to consider, such as goal scorers, the halftime score, and whether the game will make it to extra time. Looking at the halftime markets, you can get a sizeable payout just for the game reaching the interval. Betting on a draw at halftime has small returns with odds of 21/20. However, if you choose a scoreline, you can get a significantly higher-paying wager. For example, the game being 0-0 at halftime will pay 17/10. Betting €25 on this wager will return €67.50 if neither team scores before halftime.
Betting on St Patrick’s repeating the victory they achieved two years ago seems the most likely outcome. Even if you look at league form, St Patrick’s had the better season overall. However, a stumble at the end of the campaign could be enough to allow the Bohemians revenge. They only narrowly lost last time, and the painful defeat might fuel them to get over the line this time around. That is the joy of a cup final. There is no way of knowing how it will go until the game gets underway!
A cup final is a perfect excuse to use the welcome offer available here at Novibet. Once you sign up, you can use your free bets without having to risk your own money on this game. Matches like these offer the most unpredictable and exciting contests. Both sides could go toe to toe, trying to win the game within 90 minutes. Or we could get a repeat of the 2021 final, where both teams could not be separated for the entire game.
Bohemian F.C. Lineup
Bohemian manager Declan Devine rallied his troops to a 4-0 thumping in the last league game of the season. Unfortunately, it was not enough to secure a rise back up the table. Devine does not have many injury concerns, but he will be without the services of club captain, Keith Buckley. Also, James Clarke picked up an injury in the game against Cork and remains a doubt for the match this weekend.
- Bohemians Predicted Lineup: J. Talbot, B. Kukułowicz, K. Nowak, C. Byrne, P. Kirk, J. McManus, J. Flores, D. Connolly, J. O’Sullivan, D. Grant, and J. Afolabi.
St Patrick’s Athletic Lineup
Jon Daly has made a lot of changes to his side for defeats to Shamrock Rovers and Derry City. The changes show he is unsure of his best starting 11 and the results confirm it. Daly lost the last two games of the season, conceding five and scoring none. We expect him to field a similar team to the one that beat the Bohemians 0-2 around three weeks ago. As far as injured players go, Daly is without three personnel. Harry Brockbank, Axel Sjöberg, and Tom Grivosti are all out for the rest of the season.
- St Patrick’s Predicted Lineup: D. Lyness, S. Curtis, J. Redmond, D. Norman, A. Breslin, J. Lennon, K. Leavy, M. Doyle, C. Forrester, M. Doyle, and C. Carty.
