Premier Division preview: Sligo Rovers and Drogheda United target a second win

The final SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division game before the international break sees Sligo Rovers welcome Drogheda United to the Showgrounds, with both sides looking for their second win of the campaign.

It will be the fourth consecutive weekend that John Russell's side have played on their own patch - and they have a yet to hit the net. A 1-0 defeat to Shelbourne was sandwiched in between scoreless draws against Derry City and Shamrock Rovers.

There was criticism of the Showgrounds pitch after last weekend's stalemate with the Hoops, with Russell telling local media: "In fairness, the pitch is killing us at the moment.

"That's three home games and no goal.

"You can see in the final third, the ball popping up, lads have to take that extra touch where you want to put it in the net. I felt that was really frustrating."

All told, it has been a satisfactory start to the campaign for the Bit O' Red; their 5-0 demolition of Dundalk at Oriel Park the standout performance so far.

This week saw a new arrival at the club, with the signing of Dutch striker Rein Smit.

Drogheda head west on the back of a scoreless draw with Galway, prior to that they defeated Bohemians 2-1 at home.

With the exception of John Mahon, Russell has a fully fit squad to choose from. Looking ahead to facing Kevin Doherty's side, the Rovers boss said: "Drogheda played well last week against Galway United. They have brought in new players this season but have kept the core group that did well last year so we know we're in for a tough test."

On what to expect from his own said, he added: "We come into the game on the back of some good performances. It's vital that we take confidence from those games but still keep our focus on improving and raising our levels as