Limerick FC travel to Sligo Rovers in manager Gerard Lyttle’s first home league game.

It is rumoured that the game will be Willie Boland’s last in charge of Limerick after guiding them to two victories and three draws so far. Boland stepped in on a temporary basis following the departure of Martin Russell over a month ago. Wingers Ian Turner and Stephen Kenny both return to the Limerick squad but Shane Tracy misses out with a knee injury.

Midfielder Paul O’Conor has been passed fit after departing early against Shamrock Rovers due to a calf injury. The Shannonsiders picked up a hard-fought point against Shamrock Rovers last weekend through Rodrigo Tosi’s last minute equaliser. The Brazilian scored a hatrick against Sligo at the Markets Field this season and the Super Blues faithful will be hoping for a similar outcome on Saturday.

Many have praised Limerick’s defensive displays and resilience in recent weeks. Right-back Shaun Kelly agrees that the defensive shape has improved but puts the improvement down to the work ethic of the whole team and not just the back five.

“Teams aren’t carving us open but that’s down to the whole team rather than just the defence. If we can keep defensively strong and hopefully score a few more then we’ll see ourselves pick up more points.”

New Sligo manager Gerard Lyttle was in the dugout for the 1-1 draw away at fellow strugglers Drogheda United last Friday night. He admits that his side must improve in order to win upcoming games.

“We need to improve to start winning games and and that’s our aim for Saturday.”

The former Cliftonville boss has been encouraged by what he has witnessed from his new side in the early stages.

“I’ve been here two weeks and I see we are starting to press better and are improving as we become more familiar and get more ideas across. We have quite a settled team which is a positive and as I have stressed a couple of times, we need to build momentum.”

Sligo suffered a humiliating opening day defeat at the hands of Saturday’s opponents and Lyttle states that they will be aiming for revenge and will be more prepared for the challenge this time around.

“The 5-1 defeat to Limerick was a painful experience for everyone I imagine. We watched them last week against Derry so we got to see their shape in person and I’m going to ensure we stick to our own game plan and play our game against them.”

Sligo will be without influential midfielder Daniel Kearns who misses out with an ankle injury.

Referee: Damien McGrath 

Kick off: The Showgrounds at 7:45pm

Previous Meetings: October 30th, 2015: Sligo Rovers 2-3 Limerick FC
August 2015: Limerick FC 3-2 Sligo Rovers
2 May 2015: Sligo Rovers 1-1 Limerick FC