St Patrick’s Athletic vs Bohemians Preview
After an eventful opening week in the Irish Premier Division, St Patrick’s Athletic will be hopeful of another three points when Bohemians travel to Richmond Park at 7.45 pm on Friday. St Pat’s defeated Galway United 1-0 in the opening round. While Bohemians needed James Clarke’s 94th-minute strike to rescue a point against Sligo Rovers.
Bohemians have struggled to be anything more than a mid-table side in recent years. The Bohs last recorded a top-three finish back in 2020. However, St Patrick’s Athletic will hope for more of the same this season, with last year resulting in a return to European competitions after finishing third. But can St Pat’s live up to expectations against a previously tricky customer?
St Patrick’s Athletic vs Bohemians Head-To-Head and Key Stats
These two sides are very familiar with each other, playing five competitive matches in 2023. The most recent fixture came in the FAI Cup Final. Bohemians started the match well, with Jonathan Afolabi scoring after just nine minutes into the action. However, St Patrick’s quickly levelled the scoreline when Mark Doyle bagged in the 23rd minute. An own goal from Bohemians’ Krystian Nowak gave St Pats the lead just after half-time. Tom Lonergan killed the match in the dying minutes to give St Patricks a 3-1 victory.
However, when meeting in the Irish Premier Division, the matches have been closer. In their most recent league fixture, St Pats were again victorious. Goals from Conor Carty and Mark Doyle secured a 2-0 win for St Patricks at Dalymount Park. But when last visiting Richmond Park, Bohemians had slightly more success. The Bohs walked away with a point, holding St Pats to a nil-nil after 90 minutes.
Travelling to Richmond Park doesn’t seem to intimidate Declan Devine’s men. The Bohs’ most recent victory against St Patricks came away from home on matchday five last year. Bohemians, once again, kept a clean sheet and scored twice against the home side. Dean Williams and Jonathan Afolabi scored the goals that day, but neither player remains in the Bohs squad this season.
Both squads have seen big changes this season, with many of the previous goalscorers from the 2023 meetings no longer at the clubs. Jonathan Afolabi was often on the scoresheet against St Pats. But they sold the forward to Belgium strugglers KV Kortrijk for an unknown fee. Tommy Lonergan scored the last goal in St Patrick’s Athletic’s FAI Cup Final win against the Bohs but left St Pats for €60k when joining Fleetwood Town.
Despite losing a few faces, both sides will be pleased with their opening results of the 2024 season. Jamie Lennon does not have a reputation for goalscoring, but the defensive midfielder earned all three points for St Pats against Galway United. Lennon scored after just three minutes, which was only his fourth goal in 178 matches for Jon Daly’s side. Galway United didn’t make it easy for St Pats, with the home side having more of the ball and nearly equal chances. Daly will be keen to see a much better performance from his team despite getting three points on matchday one. The Dublin side had poor passing accuracy, completing just 48% of their 110 passes, which is unacceptable at this level.
Bohemians almost had a nightmare start in their 2024 campaign. The Bohs were leading after five minutes, thanks to new signing Sten Reinkort opening the scoring on his debut. However, Declan Divine’s side went into half-time needing to find a goal, with strikes from Fabrice Hartmann and Reece Hutchinson giving Sligo Rovers a 2-1 lead. Thankfully for Bohemians, the trustworthy James Clarke rescued a point in the 94th minute. The Bohs narrowly escaped an opening-day defeat but looked much improved after the break. Bohemians had 62% of the ball in the second half and registered six shots in total.
James Clarke rescues a point at the death. pic.twitter.com/neoMoiNFmt
— Bohemian Football Club (@bfcdublin) February 16, 2024
Both teams will look for an improved performance after the opening day of the season. But which team has the advantage, and what soccer wagers can provide good value this weekend?
St Patrick’s Athletic vs Bohemians Predictions
Prediction: St Patrick’s 1-1 Bohemians
As mentioned earlier, Bohemians enjoy playing at Richmond Park, remaining unbeaten in two of their last three visits. While the Bohs’ squad may have undergone some changes, we can see Declan Divine’s squad picking up another point this weekend.
Jon Daly will have likely put his St Pats players through some tough passing drills in training this week, after a poor performance on the ball against Galway United. Keeping this in mind, it’s not hard to see St Patrick’s Athletic having more control of the ball, and the Bohs will have limited chances. However, the Bohemians showed in the second half against Sligo Rovers that they will fight for Declan Divine this season.
Our correct score prediction for St Patrick’s Athletic vs Bohemians match is 1-1, with St Pats probably opening the scoring. If the Bohs were to concede first, they would likely have to rely on that fighting spirit that rescued them against Galway United, which we believe can salvage a point for the visiting side.
Betting on St Patrick’s Athletic vs Bohemians to finish 1-1 currently has odds of 6/1. This means a €10 bet would return €70. New Novibet customers can also enjoy a welcome bonus of up to €50 in free bets.
Ready for our first Dublin Derby of the season 🔜#StPatsFC #Saints2024 🔴⚪️
📸 @Inphosports pic.twitter.com/tsBIrIapPV
— St Patrick's Athletic FC (@stpatsfc) February 22, 2024
Sten Reinkort looks to have been a smart bit of business from Bohemians, and you can expect the 25-year-old to feature this weekend. Reinkort started life in Ireland with a goal against Galway United in the Bohs’ opening game of the season. The striker is an Estonian international and has scored 75 goals in 280 matches during his career. Bohemians signed the forward on a free transfer, with FC Flora allowing the prolific goal scorer to leave in January. It’s hard to imagine Reinkort not being involved in the goals should the Bohs take control of the match against St Pats.
St Patrick’s Athletic will hope Ruairi Keating can rediscover his goalscoring talents this season. The 28-year-old scored thirteen league goals last campaign and started against Galway United on the opening day last week. However, Keating failed to find the back of the net at Galway. He will probably be hungry for goals this weekend. The striker was also a January signing, joining St Pats from Cork City on a free transfer.
This fixture has been a feisty affair in previous meetings, with the teams collectively seeing three red cards in the last five matches. These matches also saw plenty of yellow cards. The last time these two teams met in the Irish Premier Division, the match produced six yellow cards. We expect to see at least three yellow cards in the fixture this weekend.
Best Bet: The match result will be a draw, both teams to score, Sten Reinkort to score @ 15/2
St Patrick’s Athletic vs Bohemians Betting Tips
It’s still very early in the Irish Premier Division season, but both sides will be keen to get the campaign started on the right foot. Because of the lack of matches played so far, you might be wise to look into some live betting once the match is underway. This will give you a chance to judge the game for yourself.
We’re expecting a competitive 90 minutes between St Patrick’s Athletic and Bohemians, so betting on both teams to score would probably be a good bet. While the odds may appear small at 7/10, getting just under double your money for a likely market represents strong value. Betting on St Patrick’s Athletic and Bohemians to score returns €17 in total from a €10 wager.
The bookies are being generous for betting on a draw. Placing a €10 bet on a draw returns €34, with the odds currently 12/5 on Novibet. However, if you disagree with our prediction and believe there will be a winner in this match, you can also find good value in these markets. The odds for St Patrick’s Athletic to beat Bohemians are currently 6/5, returning €22 from a €10 bet. Betting on Bohemians to beat St Pats has odds of 17/8, which yields €31 from a €10 soccer wager.
As mentioned, the Bohs kept a clean sheet when last visiting Richmond Park. The match finished 0-0. If Declan Divine’s lads can do that again, it could mean big returns for punters. The odds for Bohemians to keep a clean sheet against St Patrick’s Athletic are 14/5. A €10 bet on this market returns an impressive €38.
St Patrick’s Athletic Team News
St Patrick’s is missing one player against Bohemians. Tom Grivosti is still recovering from a cruciate ligament injury. Grivosti’s absence will not come as a surprise, given the defender hasn’t played for St Pats since May 2023.
St Pats have also added a talented right-back to the squad. Kieran Freeman has joined on a permanent deal from Dundee United. It’s unlikely that the defender will start against Bohemians, with the transfer subject to international clearance.
✍️ We are delighted to announce the signing of defender @kieranfreeeman from @dundeeunitedfc, subject to international clearance
The ex Southampton right-back made 66 senior appearances in Scotland, scoring three times#StPatsFC #Saints2024 🔴⚪️ pic.twitter.com/5iY2APLFH2
— St Patrick's Athletic FC (@stpatsfc) February 21, 2024
Although Joe Redmond, Kian Leavy and Jake Mulraney all picked up yellow cards against Galway United, St Pats have zero suspensions.
Bohemians Team News
For Bohemians, Keith Buckley remains out of the picture. The midfielder suffered a cruciate ligament injury in October 2023 and has yet to return. However, Buckley has already missed eight matches due to injury, so Bohs fans would have expected this absence.
Rob Cornwall’s season started in the worst way possible against Sligo Rovers. The experienced centre-back started the match, but could only manage 34 minutes before picking up an injury. Cornwall will miss the game this weekend against St Pats.
✍️Bohemian FC is delighted to confirm the signing of Polish striker Filip Piszczek on a multi-year contract: https://t.co/bc1IsJOUbL
The 28-year-old joins from Japanese side FC Imabari and, subject to international clearance, will be the eighth new addition to Declan Devine’s… pic.twitter.com/fZzwp8ZobV
— Bohemian Football Club (@bfcdublin) February 21, 2024
In better news, Bohemians didn’t collect any suspensions on the opening day of the season and can travel to Richmond Park with a full squad barring Buckley and Cornwall. The Bohs also strengthened their attacking options with the signing of Filip Piszczek. The Polish striker has already been training with the squad and will act as a useful backup to Sten Reinkort.
