LOI preview: Winless Sligo Rovers and Shamrock Rovers clash at The Showgrounds

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