IBI CORPORATE FINANCE PREMIER LEAGUE PREVIEW - MATCH DAY 9 (AUGUST 10TH)

This Saturday sees the 9th round of fixtures in the IBI Corporate Finance Premier League taking place, as there are once again three big games set to take place.

This weekend see Malahide travel to Leinster, whilst in the Phoenix Park, Balbriggan are the visitors. Finally in Castle Avenue, Pembroke visit Clontarf hoping to take advantage of Merrion not being in action this weekend to put pressure on the side at the top of the table.

LEINSTER VS MALAHIDE

Leinster play host to one of the sides fighting it out at the bottom of the league in Malahide in a tie which the home side really need to get a victory in to keep their slim title hopes alive. Their run in will be made tougher by the return of Luke Callanan to Australia, however they do still boast an extremely strong bowling attack, including openers Jai Moondra and Mark Tonge, as well as Joey Carroll and Bilal Azhar, who offer two more excellent seam options. Their spin comes from primarily Tom Johnson's left arm, alongside Gareth Delany's leggies, and Saqib Bahadur's off-breaks which have all shown the ability to take wickets throughout the season. With the bat, they will look to Azhar for a fast start, however the real class in the side comes from Monil Patel at 3, Carroll at 4 and Delany at 5, with further support coming from the likes of Bahadur and Tristen de Beer in a side which can produce some strong efforts.

Malahide are set to be without their number three Ali Frost for the rest of the season as he has returned to Zimbabwe, however this weekend is likely to see his brother Mike return to strengthen the side with his left-arm spin. Mohit Sane has been the other spin option which has been used this term. Kelvin Donnelly takes the captain's armband in the absence of James Newland, meaning Donnelly will also have a new partner to open the bowling alongside, with Jeremy Martins looking the most likely option. Andy Sheridan will round out a strong bowling attack for the away side. With the bat, Adam Doyle has been the leading run scorer for the side in the league this season and will again look to anchor the innings, whilst Younas Ahmadzai and Cormac McLoughlin-Gavin at the top of the order will be the pair hoping to get Malahide off to a flying start. The middle order will feature the likes of Martins, Sheridan and Timcy Khanduja as Malahide will be aiming to salvage a semblance of competitiveness in the coming weeks to finish the season.

With James Newland missing, Malahide's new ball spell for Kelvin Donnelly becomes even more important, if he can knock over the wicket of Bilal Azhar early on, they will hope it can stunt the quick start of the home side and allow them into the game.

KEY BATTLE: Bilal Azhar vs Kelvin Donnelly

PHOENIX VS BALBRIGGAN

Fourth placed Phoenix host Balbriggan in what they will hope is another fixture which can help set them up for their All-Ireland showdown next Saturday. With last Saturday's Senior Cup Final defeat put to the back of their mind, the Park side will be hoping to recover themselves from a record where they have now lost more league games than they have won so far this term. Their batting centres around the fortunes of Jack Lalor, who's half-century was the only real resistance in that final defeat, however they'll hope the likes of Tyrone Kane, Adam Chester and Shane Getkate can also contribute to the cause. Although it didn't fire at all last weekend, Phoenix's bowling is really the side's trump card, with much of their success coming in fixtures where Amish Sidhu's left-arm spin has been able to have a big impact early in the piece. Lalor and Kane offer strong seam options, and they will be hoping to be boosted by the inclusion of the likes of Ben White who would add to the spin attack. Devender Ranolia's left-arm offies were also vital in last weekend's final as he picked up some crucial wickets, and looks set to be a key man yet again.

Balbriggan meanwhile got a boost last weekend with Chris de Freitas' injury not as bad as was initially feared, and they will be hoping he can continue some of his strong form from the Leinster Lightning midweek fixture in to this weekend's game. The batting is weakened by the loss of Cameron Rowe, who's hand injury will keep him out this weekend, and means Ghanim Dara will need to be solid at the top of the order. The all-round trio of Jordan Hollard, Dylan Lues and Sebastian de Oliveira are all likely to need to contribute with the bat if the side are to put together a competitive effort. There's also returns to first team action for Bhavesh Lakhotia and Adrian Harper, and both add experience that could prove crucial in the absence of some of their big players this weekend.

Amish Sidhu's left-arm spin has been key for Phoenix for much of this season, and they'll be hoping he can take the wicket of Chris de Freitas, to potentially expose the Balbriggan middle order earlier in the innings than the away side would like.

KEY BATTLE: Amish Sidhu vs Chris de Freitas

CLONTARF VS PEMBROKE

Finally, Clontarf play host to a Pembroke side which will both be wounded at having lost it's spot at the top of the table, and on top form having won last weekend's Senior Cup Final. 'Tarf are led by Eoghan Delany, and he features in a strong batting unit which includes Mitchell Thompson, David Vincent and Rahul Dalal, as well as the all-round trio of John McNally, David Delany and Fionn Hand. The bowling unit is led by the seam bowling all-rounders in Delany and Hand, whilst McNally, Ethan Marshall and Reuben Wilson will provide some good support to that pair. Their spinners are led by Cillian McDonnell's left-arm offies, with support coming from both Vincent and Yash Balasubramaniam, with the spin attack down to just three members this weekend in the absence of Paul Ryan.

Pembroke meanwhile are without JJ Garth and Harry Tector from last weekend's Cup Final victory, meaning Diarmaid Tucker returns to the line-up along with Macdara Cosgrave, whilst Greg Hollins and Byron McDonough both also drop out and are replaced by Gavin Hoey and Padraic Flanagan. Tucker will likely feature at the top of the order alongside the in-form Tim Tector, whilst gloveman Lorcan Tucker is set to occupy the slot at number three, ahead of a power-packed middle order including their skipper Nick Stapleton, Jack Tector, Fiachra Tucker, Cosgrave and Hoey. The bowling attack follows a very similar line-up to what it usually contains in the league, the three seamers led by Stapleton and Olly Riley with support in the shape of Flanagan, whilst the spinners are strengthened by the return of Hoey's leg-breaks to compliment the off-spin of Paul Lawson and Fiachra Tucker's leggies.

Cillian McDonnell's left-arm spin has done a fine job of tying sides down in the middle overs for Clontarf so far this season, and they'll be hoping to see more of that from him this weekend. If he can keep Nick Stapleton under wraps through the middle overs, it could help Clontarf restrict Pembroke's batting line-up to a manageable effort.

KEY BATTLE: Cillian McDonnell vs Nick Stapleton