Keiran Offord purposely drives into the penalty area, showing impressive attacking intent and his near-post strike is met by a smart save from David Odumosu, who gets down quickly to deny the visitors an opener.

Stephen O'Donnell makes a crucial block to rob Ahu Obhakhan of the ball just before he was going to test his luck.

Joe Gormley cleverly tees up Rory Hale out wide.

Hale whips in a teasing cross to the back post, forcing Jacob Blaney to turn the ball behind. The resulting corner, however, comes to nothing.

Kym Nelson travels through midfield before passing to Andrew Scott who finds Sean Brown on the right wing, but the last men back for Portadown deal with the danger.

Not much action to keep you informed about in the opening five minutes of this one.

Crusaders' Jimmy Callacher launches a pinpoint long ball over the top, seeking out Harry Franklin.

The frontman shows a burst of pace to get in behind the Cliftonville defence but can't beat the offside trap.

Eamon Fyfe gets the action underway at the Ballymena Showgrounds.

Can tonight's visitors make it back-to-back league victories or will Jim Ervin's side be the victors and move to the top of the table?

Kieran Offord gets the ball rolling, and we're underway in north Belfast.

Jonny Addis is making his 500th Irish Premiership appearance by starting for the Reds tonight.

BBC iPlayer

Our live coverage of the game at Solitude has just started on the BBC iPlayer.

You can also watch it here on the website by clicking the play button at the top of the page.

Thomas Kane is joined by former Glenavon and Crusaders defender Sean Ward on commentary.

Northern Ireland's Nations League match at home to Belarus on 15 November will be played at Windsor Park after the visitors were granted visas.

There had been uncertainty over whether Belarus' players, staff and officials would be granted visas by the UK government because of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

The reverse fixture on Saturday, 12 October was played behind closed doors in western Hungary because of restrictions on Belarus from Uefa, European football's governing body.

While Uefa's restrictions will not impact the return fixture, a venue in Europe would have had to have been to be secured if permission was not granted by the UK government for the game to take place in Belfast.

Belarus was included in the UK's sanctions against Russia, as the country has allowed its territory to be used by Russia's army to launch attacks into northern Ukraine.

Image source, Getty Images

Ballymena United will be looking to get back to winning ways this evening and make two changes to the starting XI that lost against Crusaders last weekend with Josh Carson and Joe Moore replacing Oisin Devlin and Calvin McCurry.

Niall Currie makes two alterations to the side that came from behind to defeat Larne on Sunday with Baris Altintop and Lewis MacKinnon starting and Dougie and Luke Wilson dropping to the bench.

Ballymena United: O'Neill, Rocks, McCallion, O'Donnell, Nelson, Brown, Kennedy, Scott, Moore, McMurray, Carson.

Subs: Johnston, Coates, Gawne, McCurry, O'Mahony, Devine, Devlin.

Portadown: McCarey, Altintop, MacKinnon, Chapman, McElroy, McCullough, Fyfe, Ukek, Obhakhan, McCartan, Thompson.

Subs: Ray, D Wilson, L Wilson, Mayse, Wylie, Traynor, McDonagh.

Image source, BBC Sport

Watch highlights as Kieran Offord's stunning acrobatic overhead kick gave Crusaders a 1-0 win over Ballymena United at Seaview last weekend.

Jim Magilton, riding high on his side's impressive 2-1 triumph over Linfield at Windsor Park, makes one change for tonight's eagerly anticipated second north Belfast derby of the season.

Ryan Curran comes in to replace the suspended Conor Pepper.

Declan Caddell, fresh from orchestrating a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Ballymena United at Seaview, opts for a subtle reshuffle in his Crusaders line-up.

The promising Harry Jewitt-White is handed a starting berth, with the experienced Jordan Stewart dropping to the bench.

Cliftonville: Odumosu, Addis, Newberry, Pettifer, Kearney, Hale, Curran, Doherty, Gormley, Glynn, Steven.

Subs: Ridd, S. Stewart, Donnelly, Conlan, Piesold, Markey, Corrigan.

Crusaders: Tuffey, Callacher, Weir, Jewitt-White, Blaney, Forsythe, O'Rourke, Offord, Clarke, Franklin, Barr.

Subs: Kerr, Lowry, J. Stewart, Williamson, Owens, Smith, Nixon.

Image source, bb

Shay McCartan scored from his own half late in the game to give Portadown a 2-1 comeback victory over champions Larne at Shamrock Park.

Portadown manager Niall Currie said the 2-1 comeback victory over Larne was a "fantastic day for the club".

Aaron McCarey's own goal put the Premiership champions in front but the Shamrock Park hosts hit back with two second-half goals.

Eamon Fyfe headed in the leveller before Shay McCartan won it two minutes from time with a superb strike, scoring from his own half.

"It was a fantastic day for the club - in situations like this it is very important to stay in the game," said Currie.

"We knew possession wise it was always going to be difficult but our shape was fantastic and we were very disciplined.

"We stuck to our gameplan. I thought in the last 25 minutes we opened the game up and had quite a few breakaways."

The highlight of the match came in the 88th minute when McCartan spotted Rohan Ferguson off his line and sent his long-range effort into the net.

"Shay is a wonderful player, a wonderful talent.

"People have been saying about his lack of numbers in terms of goals, in terms of assists but is a special player and I'd love to see his GPS stats because he worked his socks off of the ball."

Image source, Inpho

Cliftonville came from behind to beat Premiership pacesetters Linfield 2-1 at Windsor Park last Saturday with Ryan Curran and Ryan Corrigan on target for the Reds.

Cliftonville manager Jim Magilton says the performance in the 2-1 comeback victory over Premiership leaders Linfield last weekend is the template for progress.

Matthew Fitzpatrick gave the Blues a first-half lead at Windsor Park before the Reds hit back with goals from Ryan Curran and teenager Ryan Corrigan.

"I'm delighted with the level of performance - they set the standard and the template moving forward," said Magilton.

"It's always a very difficult place to come to. To have to work your socks off, which we did. To have to show courage, which we did and you have to show quality, which we did.

"Ultimately there was a real determination from the players and substitutes that came on to get the result."

Image source, Inpho

Here are Ballymena United defender Colin Coates' predictions for tonight's games and those throughout the rest of the weekend.

Ballymena v Portadown (Friday, 19:45 GMT)

Both teams have shown reasonable form recently, with Portadown taking confidence from the result last weekend. We've come off of eight wins in a row and then a string of narrow loses, so we'll be hoping to get back on the wagon.

Prediction: N/A (we'll let him off this one!)

Cliftonville v Crusaders (Friday, 19:45 GMT, live on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website)

The north Belfast derby is probably the second biggest fixture in the league. It throws up a good game with plenty of goals. Both sides have had solid starts, with Cliftonville coming off a big win. I think Declan Caddell is still finding a starting team that suits them, but they remain dangerous, especially in games like this one.

Prediction: 2-2

Coleraine v Dungannon Swifts (Saturday, 15:00 GMT, coverage on Sportsound)

Coleraine’s home advantage could give them the edge in a tight game. Rodney McAree's men have impressed with their young, talented squad, and have become a surprise package this season. Despite Dungannon's form, Coleraine have a nice brand of football and might just edge this one.

Prediction: 2-1

Glentoran V Larne (Saturday, 15:00 GMT, coverage on Sportsound)

Tough game to call. Larne’s form has been up and down and with pressure on the squad due to European defeats and squad rotation, they haven't been able to find their rhythm. On their day though, they can beat anyone. Declan Devine will be pushing to secure points on Saturday at home, hoping to build some momentum.

Prediction: 1-1

Loughgall v Glenavon (Saturday, 15:00 GMT, coverage on Sportsound)

A massive game for both teams at the other end of the table. Loughgall have a confidence boost from last week's win, and Glenavon have had good results against some top sides. Sometimes they need to turn draws into wins and they'll be looking to do that this weekend.

Prediction: 1-1

Carrick Rangers V Linfield (Sunday, 12:30 GMT)

Carrick Rangers have seen a turn in form since Stephen Baxter came in, and their results reflect that. Linfield however, with their depth and experience, are known to bounce back strongly after a defeat. I expect Linfield to go out and win in a competitive game.

Prediction: 1-2

Don't forget to join Colin Coates with Michael McNamee on this weekend's Sportsound programme on BBC Sounds, BBC Radio Ulster and the BBC Sport website from 14:00 GMT on Saturday.

Image source, BBC Sport

Good evening and welcome to our coverage of tonight's two Irish Premiership games.

Cliftonville host Crusaders in the second north Belfast derby of the season at Solitude, hoping to make it three league wins in a row.

The Crues are aiming to leapfrog their rivals into fourth in the table with an away win.

That game will be live on the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website.

In tonight's other fixture Ballymena United will want to get back to winning ways after two league defeats in a row.

They welcome Portadown to the Showgrounds, who come into the game off the back of a dramatic win against champions Larne.

We will have live text commentary and in-play clips from both games.

Thanks for joining us - enjoy!

Image source, Pacemaker Press