Against All Odds: Like taking candy from a baby

Derry are odds-on for their trip to Bray Wanderers this evening in the Irish Airtricity Premier Division but Paul Robinson thinks that favourite backers will come unstuck.

Bray made a terrible start to their campaign as after winning their first fixture, they then went on to pick up just one more point from the next 10. The Seagulls were well and truly in a nosedive but a 2-1 victory at Shelbourne lifted them off the bottom of the table and they've since gone on to win three and draw one of their next four.

In 35 year old Jason Byrne, manager Eddie Cox has one of the better strikers in the division at his disposal and the Irish international is in red-hot form with seven goals in his last two appearances. He netted a hat-trick in a 3-2 win over Drogheda and followed that up with four goals in a thrilling 5-4 victory at UCD - where in truth Bray were always in control.

Derry will be looking to improve on last year's fifth placed finish and lift their first top flight league championship since 1997. The Candystripes have made a sweet start to their quest as they sit second in the table - six points behind St Patrick's, with a game in hand.

Declan Devine's men have scored the most goals so far this term and after 16 matches they are averaging a shade over two per game. They do concede their fair share though and will have to do without the trio of Thomas Crawley, Dermot McCaffrey and Barry Molloy for the trip to the Carlisle Grounds - the latter being quite a big miss from the midfield.

These two sides are in good form heading into the mid-season break and while Derry have clearly been the better performer in 2013, they are prone to the odd defeat - most recently against Sligo and UCD. It's also worth noting that the score in this fixture last year was 0-0. Therefore with Derry trading as low as 1.79, I have to make them my lay of the day.

Recommended Bet
Lay Derry v Bray @ 1.79

Bet HERE

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