- Wexford have drawn two in a row after a 3-3 home thriller with Longford Town and a 2-2 draw away last week. They were, however, beaten 1-0 by Kerry FC in the previous game.
- UCD won 4-0 at Treaty United after losing 1-3 at home to the same club. They drew 1-1 with Longford Town.
- The Students are 3rd in the table on 53 points from 35 games with Wexford 8th on 42 points from the same number of games.
Students have the edge but Wexford will score at the very least
University College Dublin FC will take the points in this Friday's First Division 2026 clash but probably not without some drama and no more than one goal in hand. The Students will have to be aware that they can be caught out on the counter if they open the game up and the hosts have enough in them to always nick one at home.
Wexford are a footy team with width and energy in the lines, a front-foot 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 system and an aggressive press that should rattle the visitors early on if Ian Ryan gets it right. Jake Doyle is the spark that can ignite the play and has three goals in Wexford's last five games, during which his team have scored nine.
The UCD approach is a bit more measured with Andy Myler's side trying to control the middle third and rotate their players in a way that maintains their structure. They are a less erratic unit than the home side and this will be on a knife-edge with some good opportunities for both to score, so Both Teams to Score - Yes at 11/25 is a decent price considering UCD have the best odds in the match at 79/50 to win.
Visitors have the momentum
UCD have one win, two draws and two defeats in their last five, but that's enough to keep them in the promotion race coming into this one with Wexford having a similar run of 1-2-2.
UCD have three wins in the last five head-to-heads with one draw and a win for Wexford, but that result finished 4-1 in favour of the away side so the odds still look right for a high-scoring contest that the visitors can nick. UCD have scored 25 goals on the road in 17 First Division 2026 games, while Wexford have hit 26 at the opposite end of the field in 17 home games. So, backing Over 2.5 goals at 1/2 seems good.
Hugh Smith has been UCD's sharp edge in recent weeks with three goals in their nine-goal tally from the last five and it would be no surprise to see the away team run out 4-1 winners. Wexford have eight wins, four draws and five defeats at home while UCD have won five, drawn five and lost seven in 17 trips so the hosts could get lucky and nick a point, but the most likely script is UCD edging it but not without a fight.
