Expert League of Ireland predictions and football betting tips from Johnny Ward

Best bets

Bohemians draw no bet
2pts 11-4 bet365

Athlone -1
2pts 11-10 Boyles

League of Ireland weekend predictions

Bohemians visit Derry City in the League of Ireland Premier Division on Friday night, and it could be worth chancing that the visitors can claim all three points.

Neither side have been in great form recently. Derry have taken one point from their last three matches and were a shambles in defeat at St Patrick's on Monday, while Bohs' last six games have yielded five points.

It can be easy to overreact to a small sample size of bad results, but Derry have been hit hard with injuries and it's difficult to have confidence in them, making Bohs worth a wager.

Bohs boss Declan Devine, returning to his old club, will see defensive deficiencies his side can exploit. The visitors have lots of pace on the break and Derry's confidence is clearly quite low. 

Bohs are two points behind Derry at the halfway stage of the season with a game in hand, so it's hard to understand why they are as big as 4-1 to win at the Brandywell Stadium.

The other Premier Division matches are not especially appealing from a betting perspective. Shamrock Rovers are as short as 1-25 at home to UCD and it would be staggering if they failed to win. Handicap punters need to be wary of these games, though, as UCD are likely to park the bus and Rovers may not have to be fully at it to oblige.

St Patrick's are on an amazing run, as are Cork, but both look priced right for their respective games against Drogheda and Dundalk. Shelbourne host Sligo, who have lost five of their last six and only scored in one of those matches.

Athlone are having a fine season in the second tier and play their home games on an artificial surface, so they will have no fear of a trip to basement side Kerry. Town are scoring freely - their tally of 32 goals is comfortably the best of the teams outside of Galway and Waterford - and can make light of a one-goal handicap.

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