Bohemians v St Patrick's Ath:Halting St Patrick's Athletic's charge at the top of the Premier Division table with a win at Dalymount Park tonight will launch Bohemians fully into the title race themselves, according to their manager Seán Connor.

Wins over Drogheda and Sligo last week, with the former then losing surprisingly at home to Shamrock Rovers on Friday, has seen St Patrick's open up an eight-point lead. But a third victory in four games would move Bohemians up to second in the table, putting pressure on Drogheda and fourth-placed Cork City.

"I think this game hands us an ideal opportunity," said Connor. "I'm not saying it's a must-win, but we certainly mustn't get beaten. If we do win it, I think we do have title credentials. It would put us four points ahead of Cork, and even though they've games in hand they've got to win them and squeeze them into their fixture list as they are in Europe.

"It would also put pressure on Drogheda who suddenly go from being comfortable in second to dropping to third and they'll need a win (in Sligo) tomorrow to put themselves back up there again."

Bohemians welcome back key components, captain Kevin Hunt, and fellow midfielder John Paul Kelly, who both missed their win in Galway on Friday night due to illness and suspension. Also available again is defender Mark Rossiter, though Deane Pooley, Harpal Singh and Fergal Harkin remain sidelined with injuries.

St Patrick's pick from the same panel that beat Sligo on Friday night as a knee injury continues to rule out midfielder Joseph Ndo while utility defender Stephen Paisley is likely to miss out again with an ankle injury.

"They are all big games now," said St Patrick's manager John McDonnell.

"We had a 0-0 here with Bohs and it was tight. It will be tight up there again. They have a good team and a good squad . . . but it's not out of our reach to get something.