Shelbourne and Shamrock Rovers play their second matches of the UEFA Conference League league phase.
Here is all you need to know about the games.
TV
Both matches will be live on Premier Sport 1 and TNT Sports 5.
ONLINE
There will be a live blog on RTÉ.ie and the RTÉ News app with updates from both matches.
SHELS BEGIN PROCEEDINGS
Shels are up first with the 5.45pm kick-off in a winnable game having made the long trip to North Macedonia.
With the way the fixtures have fallen, it’s vital the Reds pick up points in their early matches and they began well with a draw against Hacken in Tallaght.
In difficult conditions in Tallaght, Joey O’Brien’s team were resolute and had chances to win the game. A share of the spoils was certainly a fair outcome though.
Kosovan side Drita comes to Dublin after this game, with at least one victory needed if Shels are to progress to the qualification play-offs.
AK Alkmaar (a), Crystal Palace (h) and Celje (a) are their final games, so matches against North Macedonian and Kosovan opponents must be targeted for three points.
HOOPS MORE UP AGAINST IT
Shamrock Rovers and Celje met last year
Shamrock Rovers defeated Celje in last year’s Europa League qualifying rounds in one of the best performances by an Irish team in recent times.
It’s going to take a big effort again tonight to come out on top.
With a tough encounter away to AEK Athens and a home clash with Shakhtar Donetsk as part of their six games. the draw was not kind to the Hoops.
Breidablik (a) and Hamrun Spartans (h) offer easier opportunities for points but they will need at least a draw before that.
The heavy defeat to Sparta Prague was unsurprising, particularly as Stephen Bradley rotated some players on the night due to the FAI Cup semi-final.
Tonight’s game is somewhat easier, but the Hoops are certainly underdogs again.
NEW WORLD FOR SHELS AND SHKENDIJA
Both Shels and KF Shkendija are playing in the outright competition for the first time.
Normally based in Tetovo but playing at the national stadium tonight, KF Shkendija have considerable experience of the qualifying rounds in Europe with mixed results.
Shkendija eliminated FCSB of Romania in a major Champions League upset which helped them qualify.
They went on to face a side Shels know very well in Qarabag, going down 6-1 on aggregate, in the third round.
The North Macedonian champions narrowly missed out on the Europa League after losing to Ludogorets of Bulgaria in extra-time.
They had a creditable 2-0 away loss to Rayo Vallecano in their Conference opener, and like Shels, will know they can be a lot more attacking tonight.
The squad is mostly made up of Macedonian and Albanian players – the club has an affinity with their bordering neighbour.
Ghanian striker Fabrice Tamba is seen a big dangerman and has had a great start to the year.
Shkendija are unbeaten in nine matches and sit two points behind leaders Struga as they look to defend their title.
REPEAT MISSION FOR SHAMROCK ROVERS
When it comes to the strength of tonight’s opponents for Rovers, just consider that they defeated AEK Athens in their opening league clash.
They may have exited against the Hoops last year in Europa qualifiers, but they surpassed them in the Conference by reaching the last 16. Fiorentina came out on top in that tie by a tight margin, 4-3 on aggregate.
Like the Hoops, they came through three rounds of the Conference qualifying to get here.
Liverpool supporters will be familiar with their manager, Albert Riera. Stephen Bradley was unhappy with his counterpart in their last meeting, describing him as arrogant for his reaction to the defeat.
Riera has been linked with the vacancy at Red Star Belgrade in recent days.
WHAT THEY SAY
Bradley spoke about the turnover in the Celje squad since the last clash.
“Only two of their starting XI are still there, so they’ve changed completely. If you look back after we beat them, they went really deep in Europe last season and along the way have been changing players quite regularly.
“Their squad is unrecognisable to the one we played so it’s a different challenge. Celje still play in a similar way with similar characteristics, but the manager is still the same (Riera), but they have better players and are a better team.”
Meanwhile O’Brien is hoping for improvement from Shelbourne tonight: “When you look back and reflect on Hacken, overall it was a good result but I wasn’t pleased with the performance, I felt we let it get away a little bit and didn’t impose ourselves on the game.
“Maybe there were nerves and stuff like that but we could have played better, more on the front foot, there’s lots of improvement from that game and I hope we see it tomorrow.
“Sometimes you go out and lose, but ultimately make sure you have no regrets – make sure you attack the game. That’s a big thing for us.
“We don’t want to be happy to be here. We want to go out and have a cut off the team and see what happens.”
TEAM NEWS
Josh Honahan returns from injury for Shamrock Rovers, while Lee Grace and Roberto Lopes are also available. Danny Grant and Aaron Greene are out however.
The Reds, meanwhile, have an unchanged squad from last week’s win over Sligo Rovers.
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