The two sides without a win in this year's Premier Division meet tonight as Shamrock Rovers travel to the north-west to face Sligo Rovers in The Showgrounds.
It forms part of the first Monday round of games that sees champions Shelbourne visit Galway United, both of them unbeaten so far.
Perhaps the greatest need for points is in Sligo, however, with the Hoops looking to build on a good draw with Shels last Friday and the home side without any so far.
With a game in hand to come, the Tallaght side have little to be concerned with when it comes to the table.
But getting three points on the board would be an ideal preparation for Friday's fascinating clash with St Patrick's Athletic.
Hoops boss Stephen Bradley is expecting the Bit O' Red to be better than their total has shown so far.
He said: "They scored three and miss[ed] a penalty on Friday against Pat's, so they could easily have drawn or got something out of the game. Cian Kavanagh is a handful, we know that, and Will Fitzgerald has been very good for them. You look at Sligo's midfield, they have real quality in there.
"In all of their games, they’ve had chances to score and get themselves back in games. They scored first against Drogheda but it was offside, and those moments change games. We must make sure that we give Sligo the same respect as we’ve given every opponent so far this season."
The table doesn't tell many stories at this time of year, yet with the division proving extremely competitive as expected, falling behind is not an ideal scenario.
Sligo will be concerned with shipping 10 goals in three matches, particularly as they watch the sides expected to be with them around the bottom pick up wins.
With a new look to their team, confidence has been low judging on displays in the three matches.
Nevertheless, manager John Russell feels it will come good: "We must cut out the individual errors and that's been well broadcasted to the players since the opening game. You can't go and score goals and then concede sloppy goals at the same time.
"We are trying to improve defensively but going forward, we've already scored five goals in our first three games and should have had more, so for me that's a positive.
"If we can manage to improve ourselves defensively and that's the whole team included, then we give ourselves a good base to start from.
"Yes, it's been a disappointing start to the year. But it is vital we stay focused, keep working and understand that we have more than enough quality in this squad to start picking up points soon."
Russell will again be without Wilson Waweru. Ollie Denham faces a late fitness test.
Lee Grace is awaiting a scan on the injury which forced him off in Tolka Park. Bradley expects him to absent for a few weeks. Danny Mandroiu is still a few weeks away. Jack Byrne is back.
Adam Matthews, Trevor Clarke and Darragh Nugent are nearing a return but it will not come this week.
Inconsistent St Patrick's Athletic and Derry City clash at Richmond Park, while Bohemians play their first game of the campaign at Dalymount Park with Drogheda United travelling down to Dublin.
A Munster derby featuring Waterford and Cork City is sure to bring a big crowd to the RSC on the back of victories for both sides on Friday night.
The teams have been the surprise stories early on in the season.
Last Friday's result in Derry was one of the biggest shocks of the year, giving Blues boss Keith Long lots of pride at how they have performed so far this campaign.
"It was a deserved three points on Friday night," he said
"We did our work early in the game. I thought we were a real handful. But now we go again tonight. It's a Munster derby that everyone’s really looking forward to."
The Blues head into Monday's Munster derby with no new injury concerns from Friday’s game at the Brandywell.
Matty Smith and Trae Coyle remain out injured, with Ben McCormack and James Olayinka having returned to the matchday squad on Friday night after overcoming their injuries.
Ryan Burke misses the game through suspension.
City are buoyed by their victory over Bohs with Sean Maguire and Ruairi Keating on target. It is expected they will have the same squad as last Friday.
