Waterford FC have the chance to go return to the top of the Premier Division table with a win at the Ryan McBride Brandywell this evening.
Keith Long's Blues take on Derry in round five for a clash of second versus third, with the hosts just one point ahead of their guests.
Derry are yet to lose in the early stages of the season having won their two home games and drawing both fixtures on the road.
The Blues meanwhile are sitting on a seven-point tally from their four outings to date with two wins, one draw and one loss. They have scored five times away from home in two games, with four of those goals coming against Drogheda.
Asked by the media this week as to how Waterford are likely to approach this game, Derry boss Ruaidhri Higgins said "I wouldn't disrespect them and say they'll come here and defend, and it's not a surprise to me [that Waterford are a surprise package] when you've got attacking players that they have and players right throughout the team who are really good players, so it hasn't been a surprise to me that they've picked up the points they have."
The most recent points gathered by Keith Long's side came at the expense of St Pats on Monday night. Padraig Amond continued his scoring run, netting twice in the first half to move to four goals for 2024 and consolidating his place as the league top scorer, while Maleace Asamoah bagged his second of the campaign.
Speaking to WLR Sport about the Pats result, head coach Keith Long thought his side "richly deserved to win the game."
"We set the tone early, the boys stuck to the game plan, they implemented our style of play - how we want to play at home - with a home crowd on-side early. It was a fully deserved win."
The challenge changes this evening as they head to a ground were away wins are few and far between. In their last 18 games, Derry have won 13 and drawn five, offering visiting sides very few chances for success.
"That could change," notes Higgins. "We want to make this place a really difficult place to come to and I think we've done that in recent times. Granted, first half of last season, I agree, it wasn't a fortress, we were too easily beaten here, but I've said it numerous times, from the summer onwards, it's been the opposite."
While Higgins had heaped praise on Waterford, his counterpart has done likewise, with Long saying that Derry are "a good side with really talented players, and they've got threats all over the pitch."
Derry are a settled side who have made little change to their squad from last season. Two exceptions to that are Patrick Hoban and Daniel Kelly. Hoban is vying to supplant Amond in the top scorer stakes, with three goals from four games, while Hogan is still hunting his first in the minutes he's gotten.
A win for either side could potentially send them to the top of the table. Shels currently sit on top but they will need to take something from their game with Bohs to preserve that place. Derry are two points off while the Blues are three short, but have a stronger goal difference ahead of kick-off.
"One way or another, we're not getting carried away," says Long. "We focus on the next game which is the most important thing and that's Derry on Friday, which is a very difficult challenge for us."
Kick-off is at 7.45 pm and we will bring you live coverage on WLR thanks to McConnell's Toyota Waterford, with coverage underway from 7.30 pm.
