Preview: Waterford FC v Dundalk FC

Waterford FC v Dundalk FC League of Ireland Premier Division RSC Kick-off: 7.45pm Tickets: On Sale Here>> Dundalk FC travel to the RSC on Friday night for our fourth meeting of the season with Waterford FC. The Lilywhites enjoyed a dominant 5-0 victory when the sides first met in March before playing out a thrilling 3-3 draw in April. The most recent encounter saw Waterford claim a 3-2 victory at Oriel Park.

The sides also come into the game on the back of contrasting outcomes in the FAI Cup quarter-finals last weekend. Dundalk's cup run came to an end with defeat away to Derry City, while Waterford booked their place in the semi-finals courtesy of an impressive 3-0 victory over Sligo Rovers.

Dundalk manager Ciarán Kilduff expects another difficult test against a Waterford side that has been one of the division's standout performers in recent weeks.

"We're looking forward to travelling to Waterford. It's going to be a really tough game against arguably the form team in the division at the moment. Since Graham came in, they've had a really successful run and you can see the confidence they're playing with.

"Our games against Waterford this season have always been entertaining. We've managed to score goals against them, but they've also shown that they're more than capable of scoring themselves, so it should make for another good game on Friday night.

"We're reasonably happy with our league position at the moment, but obviously we were disappointed to go out of the FAI Cup on Sunday. The important thing now is that we respond positively, get back to work and finish the season as strongly as we can.

"In terms of team news, there are likely to be a few knock-on effects from the weekend and we'll assess a number of players late. Tom Grivosti comes back into the squad after being cup-tied on Sunday, while the return of JR Wilson from injury is another positive. We have one or two fresh concerns, with Trevor Clarke and Rob Cornwall both needing late assessments.

"We certainly don't have a perfect bill of health, but we have enough quality in the squad to go down there and give a good account of ourselves.

"Waterford are on an excellent run of form and they've carried that into reaching the FAI Cup semi-finals, so we know exactly how difficult this challenge is going to be.

"We're entering a really important period now. In just over a week's time there will only be four league games left, so we're very much into the business end of the season. There's a real determination within the group and around the club to make a positive impact over the coming week and finish the campaign on a strong note.

"We've been pleased with a lot of what we've achieved so far, but this is going to be a demanding and important couple of weeks. It's a challenge we're looking forward to."