Ryan Guy will enter into his fourth season with St. Patrick's Athletic as his team takes on Galway United in the first game of the new Airtricity League, while Chris Konopka is set to make his debut with Waterford United.
St. Patrick's Athletic - Galway United
When these teams met on the opening day of last season Galway escaped from Richmond Park with a 3-0 win. St. Pat's will be hoping for a different outcome this time around.
There has been a lot of changes in the off-season for the Saints, including keeping hold of Guy who had been on the look-out for a new club, and that should result in them achieving better results in the league.
Head coach Pete Mahon insists the aim is to simply improve on last season, where the Dublin club only survived relegation on the last day. So a winning start would be ideal to kick-start a new era in Inchicore.
Defender Noel Haverty is the only absentee for the hosts, who are expected to hand first starts to Conor Kenna, Shane Guthrie, Ian Bermingham, David McAllister, Gareth Coughlan, Alex Williams and Vinny Faherty.
Guy should start on the right side of midfield, but there is a possibility that he could be used as a striker if Mahon opts to give a debut to recent recruit Brian Cash.
Galway are without the suspended Bobby Ryan, although they have sufficient cover in winger Derek O'Brien, who will be coming up against his former club.
Waterford United - Wexford Youths
Konopka made a big call by joining the Blues after serving as back-up keeper with Sporting Fingal last season, but he believes that it is a move that made sense.
The New Jersey native is eager to play first-team soccer on a regular basis and he should get his chance to nail down a starting spot by featuring in this First Division clash.
Waterford head coach Stephen Henderson has kept the bulk of last season's squad together, although the additions of winger Liam Kearney and striker Timmy Purcell should add extra firepower as they attempt to win promotion to the top flight.
This fixture has become a local derby of sorts over the past few years, so it should be a highly competitive encounter but Waterford's quality will surely see them get off to a winning start. |
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