Shels are heading into enemy territory in today's Dublin derby and Reds boss Ian Morris admits the outcome of this Richmond Park clash is "huge".
There's little to separate the St Pat's and the visitors. Both are on 13 points in the bottom half of the table, with Shels marginally better by virtue of one goal less conceded.
"Whoever wins goes up in the rankings and then whoever loses is in the bottom three, so there’s no getting away from it," acknowledged Morris.
“It’s a big weekend for the league with the bottom two playing each other but we also know that the rewards are there for us too,” he said.
Luke Byrne is suspended for Shels after his controversial red card seven days ago against Finn Harps.
Pat's have kept two clean sheets on the spin but will be without midfielder Jamie Lennon through suspension
"It's an intriguing game as the table is tight, with the same distance for us to fourth position as it is to ninth position," said Saints head coach Stephen O'Donnell.
"It's one that it's a shame the fans are missing out on. Wherever they are watching it from though, we hope that we can make sure that it's the St Pat's fans that are cheering on at the end with three points in the bag."
