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Two clubs who are fighting in the league for a European spot, but there is another route to the continent next summer. The last Club Orange FAI Cup semi-final spot is on the line at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium this afternoon. Derry City are six points behind Dundalk in the Premier Division table, so there's more pressure on them to produce in this eighth cup meeting between the clubs. The Candystripes won at this stage as recently as two seasons ago, going on to reach the final when Drogheda United surprised them. Their most recent cup win came against Bohemians in 2022. The year before marked the Lilywhites' most recent trip to the last four. They were defending champions then, after their 2020 penalty shootout triumph against Shamrock Rovers, but St Patrick's Athletic ended their title defence. So Derry, with their home advantage and a gap to make up in the league, know they need a big performance this afternoon. They had it put up to them in the last round by First Division side UCD, eventually winning 2-1. The Students could feel rightly agrieved not to have drawn the game at Belfield after hitting the woodwork three times against a shakey looking Candystripes outfit. That cup triumph over College came off the back of their only league win in the last five as they saw off Sligo on Foyleside. Since then though, they've lost out to Bohemians at Dalymount Park, before failing to hold on to a 3-1 lead against Shamrock Rovers in a draw on home turf. Interim manager Mark Connolly has not been able to find a quick fix since his arrival a little over a month ago, but a victory this afternoon could be the very spark that he needs for his team to ignite a strong finish to the season. And this was a point skipper Michael Duffy took up this week. "It's huge, we know how big this cup is this year," he said. "Getting to the Aviva (for the final) is our main goal. It's an unbelievable day, probably the best day of the year. "Coming back here and winning the cup four years ago against Shels, that topped it for me. "It's going to be a tough game, Dundalk are having a brilliant season and they've a brilliant manager." Dundalk, despite their higher league position, have been off form in the league recently. In the last ten games, they've managed just 11 points, one less than today's opponents. It's seen them fall from a comfortable third place to desperately holding onto fourth, with Shelbourne and Derry breathing down their neck. They've overachieved this season, of course, having been playing in the First Division last season but they could yet see European soccer slip from their grasp. That said, they do make the journey north off the back of a Louth derby victory over Drogheda. And this one was particularly sweet, coming from behind to win it with Daryl Horgan's late goal. There's a lot of positivity that can come from such a result, something which manager Ciarán Kilduff touched on this week. "After the drama and relief of last week's result, we're in a really good place as a team," he said. "The FAI Cup quarter-final gives us a great change of focus, but we know we're facing a very difficult game against a Derry City side that has found a bit of rhythm. We watched them against Shamrock Rovers and they were very impressive for large periods of that match. "We're happy with where we are in the league, but the FAI Cup presents a huge opportunity for every team that's left in the competition. It's one game at a time, though, and this is a very difficult tie away from home in the cauldron of the Brandywell. With their season on the line and silverware still to play for, we know Derry will be highly motivated." Dundalk will make the journey without the cup-tied Tom Grivosti, while Tyreke Wilson, JR Wilson and Harvey Warren are not fully fit, but could still play some part. They do have the slight upperhand in meetings between the clubs this season, winning 2-1 at Oriel Park in late May, after two 2-2 draws in their earlier meetings this campaign. Watch the FAI Cup quarter-final between Derry City and Dundalk live on RTÉ 2 and RTÉ Player from 3.45pm