Preview: Galway United vs Waterford United

Amid the turmoil of a financial review which will see six players released at the start of July, Galway United must prepare for a third round FAI Cup tie with Waterford United on Friday night.

Of the six to be jettisoned, only Wes Charles has seen regular first team action this year, so the side that has found a measure of self-belief since Jeff Kenna's arrival will not be impacted too greatly, once they can steer clear of the injuries that have crippled their options to date. Kenna will be forced into one change from the side that performed so admirably against St Pat's last week - as midfielder Gary Deegan is suspended

Whether the financial implications of this review will have a serious long term effect on the club remains to be seen, but it is getting more and more likely that both Kenna and his assistant Ian Foster will lace up their boots once July begins.

Waterford arrive in the west armed with good memories from a recent trip to Terryland Park. Gareth Cronin's men came from behind to grab all three points in August last year, with Vinny Sullivan slaloming through the home defence to bag the winner. Indeed, Galway only managed a single point from their jousts with the Munster men last season. However, it did come when they needed it most as a fine defensive performance on the second last day of the season clinched a scoreless draw that confirmed their Premier status for this year.

Waterford had no such luck, going down tamely to Finn Harps in the play-off, and now must battle it out with Shelbourne and Dundalk for the sole promotion spot from Division 1. They lie six points off the summit in third, as their unbeaten home record keeps them in contention. Things have not gone so well away from the RSC, although a fine 3-0 win away to Limerick 37 will have raised their spirits in the run-up to a giant-killing effort that could throw another spanner in Galway United's season.

Cronin will have more options to choose from as Stephen Quigley and Kenny Browne come back into the reckoning following suspension, while Dave Warren may also return to the squad as he recovers from a hip injury. Paul McCarthy is on the long term list with a bad ankle break which could rule him out for the rest of the year.

Neither side has an outstanding Cup pedigree, with the most recent of Waterford's two successes coming in 1980. Galway still remember with great fondness the Cup winning run of 1991, as two successive home semi-final defeats in 1999 and 2000 are the closest they have come to lifting the trophy since then.