The game on Friday between Bray Wanderers and Finn Harps is a real clash of two contrasting seasons so far. Bray began very well this season, but a poor run of form has seen them drop down from 3rd in the league to 5th where they are at the minute. Finn Harps on the other hand have done exactly the opposite, they started very poorly and looked set to be in the relegation battle, but a great resurgence has seen them climb up to 8th, with further progress possible.
The game is played on Friday night and the bookmakers have priced up Bray Wanderers as the favourites to win, despite their recent poor run of form.
Nine points separates these two in the league standings right now, which wasn’t the case a few weeks ago. Should both of these continue their recent form then it wouldn’t surprise me if they were a lot closer together in a few weeks from now.
Bray Wanderers Form
Bray Wanderers have really struggled in recent weeks, and they were well beaten in their last game by St Patricks, a game that ended 3-1. Their poor run stretches a lot further back than that, they have own just two of their last ten games, including six losses in the same spell. While relegation is not on the horizon just yet, a mid-table finish would be very disappointing given the start they had to the campaign.
Overall, Bray Wanderers have ten victories, ten losses and three draws from their 23 league games so far, putting them in 5th position in the Irish league.
Finn Harps Form
Finn Harps have really turned around their season in recent weeks and they have managed to pull off some big results. They lost their last game against Derry City, but they have won four of their last eight games, a run which has taken them out of the relegation zone. They are still only two points above that with a lot of time left, so this good run needs to continue if they want to remain clear and not dragged in to the battle.
Overall, Finn Harps are currently 8th in the league, they have won seven, drawn three and lost 12 of their 22 games played this season.
Team News
Bray Wanderers desperately need to find some defensive help, they have conceded ten goals in their last four games and look devoid of confidence at the back. They need to stop this as quickly as possible, to prevent their losing run going on any further. They are playing a team who struggle for goals this week so hopefully that will give them the confidence they need to pick up a clean sheet.
One real problem for Finn Harps has been their ability to score goals, with just 24 goals from 22 games this season. That isn’t the sort of form that they need and they will be looking for more goals from their strikers in the coming weeks. One player who has stepped up has been Eddie Dsane, who has scored a goal in each of the last two games for his club. He will surely start again and look to find the back of the net for a third consecutive game.
Top Betting Tips
This game is a really tough one to work out. We have a good team on a really poor run, struggling to keep goals out and sliding down the table, against a lower team who are playing well and moving up the table. The bookmakers believe that Bray Wanderers have the best chance of winning this game and they have priced them up as favourites, although I do not believe they should be as strong as the bookmakers are suggesting.
In this game I am going to pick Bray Wanderers to win, but only by a small margin. I am hoping they can pick up their first clean sheet in a while when they face a team struggling to score goals so I am going to back them to sneak this game by a score of 1-0. A Bray Wanderers victory by 1-0 is priced at 7/1 with Paddy Power and William Hill.
This will require Bray Wanderers to stop leaking goals, but they have a good chance to against the Finn Harps attack, which often struggles. I am hopeful that Bray Wanderers can snap their losing streak here in this one and pick up a vital win to change their fortunes.