Paul Byrne / 02 September 2008 Free Bet

After their UEFA Cup heroics last week, St.Pats take on Linfield this evening in this slightly less glamorous Setanta Cup tie. The TV cameras will be in Windsor Park so hopefully we'll see a decent game in this North vs. South battle. Can Pats continue their recent good run or will the Northern Irish champions put them back in their place?

Cork and Drogheda beat their Northern opponents last night with ease and Pats and Derry will be hoping to make it a full house for the Eircom League this evening.

Well first off we should mention the fact that Linfield are a damn tough side to beat in front of their own fans. Just one defeat over the past two seasons show that they are Chelsea-like in their consistency when at home. Last season Derry, Cork and Drogheda all tried and failed to beat the Northerners in Belfast with Drogheda's 1-1 draw being the only points dropped by Linfield. One slight advantage St Pats may hold over their opponents will be the fact that the Northerners have only started their league campaign and could be a touch rusty at this early stage of their season.

The Linfield defenders can't afford to be rusty with Pats goal machine Mark Quigley in the best form of his life. Twenty one goals this season including a goal in each leg of that momentus victory over Elfsborg and a goal back in April when Pats beat Linfield 2-0 in Richmond Park mean that Quigley should prove to be quite a handful this evening.

Betfair punters are offering us [2.94] for St Pats to return home with all three points which is tempting but not quite tempting enough. That Linfield home record is enough to put me off and I will be backing the draw which is available on Betfair at [3.4]. A draw won't be a disaster for either team and if it's all square with half an hour to go I can't see either team throwing caution to the wind in search of a winner.

In the other Setanta Cup group B game this evening Derry take on Glentoran in a game which has tended to be a close affair over the years. Two wins apiece and a draw in their five meetings show there's not much between these sides.

Derry however are in flying form recently and have been scoring for fun of late. One defeat in 11 games show that they are in fine fettle and Betfair punters' odds of [1.51] should be snapped-up this evening.

Mark Farren has scored four goals in his last three games and he could well be amongst the goals this evening. Speaking of goals, this fixture has produced more than 2.5 goals in both 2006 and 2007. Take Betfair's price of [1.93] to make it three in a row tonight.

Good luck with your Setanta Cup bets.

Recommended Bets:
Draw Linfield v Pats at [3.4]
Derry to beat Glentoran at [1.51]
Over 2.5 Goals, Derry v. Glentoran [1.93]