UCD vs Cork City Predictions

There’s a crucial clash at the bottom of the Irish Premier Division – which includes last season’s runners-up. It’s been far from a perfect year for Cork City so far, who have gone from second in 2018 to third-bottom by May. They sit just one place above the relegation playoff spot, which shows that things have taken a major turn at Turners’ Cross. However, they are heading into Monday’s meeting with UCD aiming to turn things around. Will the visitors be able to pull off a victory?

The hosts lost again on Friday night, as they went down 1-0 to Shamrock Rovers at home. Yet another blow for the Dubliners, they are now bottom of the table following a victory for Finn Harps over the weekend. That’s put UCD on course to drop down to the second tier. While the hosts will be pushing to get things back on track this week, they have little form backing them going into what remains a tough fixture.

Cork may be at the wrong end of the table, but they are still a solid side. While the visitors haven’t won enough games this term, we expect them to turn that around in this clash. They come into the game on the back of a 2-0 loss to champions Dundalk, but facing the league’s bottom side is a great change of pace. They are heading here hoping to build on mixed away form, while taking advantage of a UCD side who are really struggling for results.

The visitors have won three of eight away trips, but recently they showed potential to turn things around. A 1-0 win over Bohemians on the road was followed by a success over UCD at home, giving Cork back to back wins before that tricky meeting with Dundalk. This clash seems like a chance for the visitors to boost their form and move away from the bottom two. After all, they have won five of their last six clashes with UCD going into this one.

The hosts have lost their last seven league matches, while they’ve tasted defeat on 13 occasions this term. They head into this clash on the back of some awful form, while they’ve failed to score in five games. Given that run, we’re backing Cork for the victory, with the visitors well priced despite their great head to head record over the struggling hosts.