- The main selection won in 3 of Athlone's last 5 and in 2 of the last 3 head-to-head meetings.
- Athlone are in strong form and are priced up at 2/5 for the win.
- Both Teams to Score - No is priced at 93/100 for Friday's game.
#Athlone are a solid outfit
Athlone Town FC are currently flying in 7th place in the First Division 2026, after a run of three wins and two draws from their last five in all competitions. They currently sit 7th in the table on 48 points from 34 games, while Treaty United are 9th on 36 points after 34 games.
Ian Ryan's men play a simple and structured brand of football, which is patient and possession-based when necessary, they sit deep with a compact midfield three and use switches to get into the half-spaces. This can often lead to the opposition pinning them back, but if Athlone win the ball back then they can really make teams pay.
Athlone won 3-0 at home to Kerry FC, played out an end-to-end 3-3 draw away to Cobh Ramblers and beat Cork City by two goals to one at home last time out. They have failed to win their last home H2H however, with Treaty United claiming a 2-1 victory in the First Division 2026 away from home a couple of months ago.
Athlone have the momentum
Tommy Barrett took over the Treaty United hot seat in February 2021, and he has often seen his side succeed on the counter-attack. Enda Curran is one of Treaty's key outlets when they get forward, but The Shannonsiders struggle to find the back of the net on their travels. They have won three, drawn five and lost nine from 17 away games in the First Division 2026 this season, scoring just 14 goals in the process (0.82 per match). Athlone score an average of 1.41 and concede 0.88 at home in the 2026 First Division, suggesting that they can dominate both the ball and the game on Friday. A clean sheet for either side looks likely, so Both Teams to Score - No is my main selection in this fixture. Over 2.5 goals is the secondary play and the most likely score result is a home win, as there is some sting in this matchup for the hosts, who have won their last two home games in all current competitions.
