SSE Airtricity League Premier Division Bray v Derry City (tonight, 7.30pm)
Derry City centre-back Maximilian Karner is in line to make his debut at Bray Wanderers tonight.
The Austrian defender, who joined the club last week, has trained with his new team-mates and played in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Coleraine in midweek.
Boss Kenny Shiels admits he still hasn’t finalised his team selection ahead of this evening’s encounter against the most in-form side in the Premier Division.
“Aaron Barry and Ryan McBride are out for at least four to six weeks, so we have brought in a couple of defenders to try and give us cover in defence,” he said.
“We also have players pending suspensions, so it’s going to be a difficult time for us.
“Both Max and Cristian have settled in very well. Cristian in particular has done well this week and we are trying to dovetail him into our style of play.
‘‘Max has come and while it’s going to take him a little while, hopefully he can get some game time tonight.
“Bray have been the in-form team the last couple of months.
“They are winning matches without conceding and they look a solid, strong unit. But every game in this league is tough and this one is no different.’’
Earlier in the season, Derry secured an impressive 3-0 win at the Carlisle Grounds, but Shiels feels this evening’s game will be totally different.
“We met them really early in the season, I think it’s six or seven months since we have played them at their ground so we can’t make any comparisons with that fixture and if we get anything from the game I’ll be delighted,” he added.
“If we get a point down there, we’ll be doing really well.”
Shiels knows how important the next few months is for his team.
“We are going into a period now where we have nine away games in nine weeks, so it’s very, very difficult and we have only four games at home in the last 12 weeks of the season,” he added.
“So yes it’s very, very difficult, but we’ll get together and try to cross each hurdle as it appears.”
Elsewhere tonight, Sligo Rovers look to bounce back from their FAI Cup defeat at Wexford Youths when they entertain Galway United.
