National cups are something special for many teams and supporters. Today's match will decide whether it's Athlone Town or Wexford Youths that keep their silverware dream alive.
This should be an interesting game with lots of spark and energy as both teams are well rested since they last saw competitive action. Game on!
Athlone Town form and stats
Athlone Town was eliminated in the 1st round last season in the FAI Cup.Overall First Division stats at home this season for Athlone Town are 0-2-3 (wins-draw-losses). All in all it has been a very rough period for Athlone Town who hasn’t won a league-game in their last 17 attempts. Their previous win was against Wexford Youths, 420 days ago. With nine home First Division games in a row without a win, the Athlone fans could feel they are not getting value for their money. It remains to be seen whether this unfortunate streak, which started after the Wexford Youths game long ago, can be stopped today.
Athlone's previous game was also a home match, the defeat 0-4 versus Shamrock Rovers II. Prior to that was the away defeat visiting UCD (1-2).
Athlone were outplayed and humiliated in their previous game, as mentioned in the paragraph above. They will need to reinstall their confidence before this one.
A decent goal production from Athlone Town in their home games so far, with 8 goals from 5 league matches. This has been a stadium of sighs so far as Athlone Town have let the opposition score 16 times, an average of more than three per game.
Wexford Youths form and stats
Wexford was sent out of FAI Cup in the 1st round last season.1 win, 0 draws and 3 losses. That’s the product of Wexford Youths playing as the away team in the First Division this season. It's a growing despair in Wexford Youths as they have recorded three consecutive losses. The travelling fans think it's time that their travel expenses are covered with some points now, as Wexford have lost on their last two travels.
K. Simon was the last player to score for the away team. Wexford haven't scored a league goal in the last 375 minutes.
Home advantage was not enough for Wexford in their previous game, as they lost their First Division-match, hosting Drogheda United, 0-3. It was a First Division defeat before that one as the away game against Cobh Ramblers wasn't a success with a 0-4 loss.
The visitors will be packing their bags again in only one day as another away game awaits: The First Division trip to Cobh Ramblers.
The attacking power of Wexford Youths when travelling is not overwhelming with 3 goals scored from 4 league matches away. The Wexford manager B. O'Sullivan has some worries about the defense as 9 goals have been conceded in these travels.
Head 2 Head
Head-to-head totals (for the last ten meetings): Athlone won four games, two matches ended with a draw and Wexford Youths has four wins. Over 2,5 goals / under 2,5 goals: six / fourTop Goalscorers
  R. Manning 6 goals | L. Duffy 3 goals |  D. Meenan 2 goals |
Athlone Town missing players
Wexford Youths missing players
| Athlone Town | Wexford Youths | ||||||
| Total | Home | Statistics | Stat | Away | Total | ||
| 25 | 13 | Played | P | 12 | 25 | ||
| 2 | 2 | Won | W | 1 | 1 | ||
| 5 | 3 | Drew | D | 2 | 8 | ||
| 18 | 8 | Lost | L | 9 | 16 | ||
| 28 | 19 | Scored | S | 9 | 15 | ||
| 66 | 37 | Conceded | C | 32 | 56 | ||
| 100% | 100% | Over 0.5 | O 0.5 | 100% | 80% | ||
| 96% | 92% | Over 1.5 | O 1.5 | 92% | 76% | ||
| 76% | 85% | Over 2.5 | O 2.5 | 50% | 48% | ||
| 60% | 77% | Over 3.5 | O 3.5 | 50% | 36% | ||
| 24% | 38% | Over 4.5 | O 4.5 | 25% | 20% | ||
| 68% | 77% | BTTS | BTTS | 50% | 48% | ||
| 0% | 0% | Clean Sheets | C S | 0% | 20% | ||
| 32% | 23% | Failed to Score | F T | 50% | 52% | ||
| 3.5 | 3.8 | Corners for (avg) | C F | 2.1 | 2.4 | ||
| 4.9 | 3.6 | Corners against (avg) | C A | 4.8 | 4.1 | ||
| 1.2 | 1 | Yellow cards (avg) | Y C | 1.4 | 1.5 | ||
| 1 | 1 | Red cards | R C | 2 | 3 | ||
| 184 | 125 | Total Shots | T S | 58 | 145 | ||
| 69 | 46 | Shots on Target | S O | 23 | 61 | ||
| 33% | 35% | Goal Efficiency | G E | 35% | 23% | ||
| Total | Home | Away | |||||||||||||||||||
| # | Team | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | MP | W | D | L | F | A | +/- | P |
| 1 | Cabinteely | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 8 | 22 |
| 2 | Drogheda United | 9 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 22 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 13 | 8 | 11 | 18 |
| 3 | Bray Wanderers | 9 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 17 |
| 4 | Longford Town | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 16 |
| 5 | UCD | 9 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 11 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 10 | -1 | 14 |
| 6 | Shamrock Rovers II | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 8 |
| 7 | Cobh Ramblers | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 |
| 8 | Wexford Youths | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | -9 | 6 |
| 9 | Galway United | 9 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -5 | 5 |
| 10 | Athlone Town | 9 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 13 | 25 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 9 | -12 | 3 |