Cork City vs Waterford United Predictions

Cork continue to disappoint after their drop off this term, having gone from regular title challengers to bottom half scrappers. They sit in seventh place ahead of this meeting with Waterford, the side directly behind them in the Premier Division table. These two should be concerned over the form of Finn Harps, who are just five points shy of the Blues after improving their form. These two aren’t entirely safe from relegation, which makes this clash hugely important on Monday night. Fresh from yet another defeat, can Cork start to turn their form around in this encounter?

The hosts have had their problems all season, with home results a particular concern. The Rebel Army have won only twice at their own ground this term, failing to win 12 of their 14 home matches. Cork have the worst points return in home games across the division, sitting four-points behind basement side UCD. It’s been a difficult year for the hosts, especially on the back of early European exits this term. However, they need to rally in order to stave off any threat of the drop to the second tier.

Waterford are another side who came off a strong finish only to fall into trouble. They finished in the top four last term, only to be denied a Europa League spot after UEFA rejected them. While Waterford’s European ambitions always looked temporary, they have fallen fast to drop into the bottom three. They could fall even further, based on the fact that they’ve won just once in 11 league games. With terrible defensive form behind them, the visitors are likely to have a tough time in this one.

Waterford have just one clean sheet from their last 11 league games, while they’ve let in 12 goals across their last five Premier Division matches. However, five of their last six matches in the league have seen both teams find the net, so we are expecting both sides to hit the target here. Cork have conceded in 71% of their league games, while only the bottom two have conceded more than Waterford this term.

Cork won 2-1 at Waterford a couple of weeks ago and we see more goals when these two meet at Turner’s Cross. Waterford have shipped too many goals, while Cork have seen both teams score in three of their last four league games. The hosts have managed to rack up 16 goals across six home meetings with Waterford, which points to goals in this clash. We’re going with both teams to score, while we’re backing a repeat of Cork’s most frequent scoreline here: a 1-1 draw.