The action is underway at Mourneview Park, but the home side are dealt an early blow before kick-off with first-choice goalkeeper Gareth Deane pulling up during the warm-up.

Mark Byrne steps up from the bench to don the gloves for the Lurgan Blues, while Lucas Fry is drafted into the matchday squad.

A less than ideal start for Paddy McLaughlin's men as they seek vital points in their relegation battle.

Leo Alves gets the ball rolling at Stangmore Park.

Can the home side close the gap to top of the table Linfield to five points or will David Healy's men be the victors this evening?

Gary Haveron has been appointed as Larne's new head coach in a restructure which has moved Nathan Rooney into the role of head of football.

Rooney was brought in from Gibraltar side Bruno's Magpies to replace Tiernan Lynch as head coach after he departed for Derry City just three weeks ago.

The move comes after it was confirmed that Rooney is unable to officially lead Larne in their Uefa Conference League games as he does not yet have the required licence.

In a statement explaining the restructure, Larne chief executive Niall Curneen said: "At the time of his appointment, Nathan believed his previous application to enrol on a Pro Licence, curtailed by Covid-19, allowed him to satisfy the European licensing requirements in the UK.

"He currently has a number of applications pending to enrol in this process and we will review our structures if and when this comes about."

Read more here

Image source, Press Eye

Glentoran manager Declan Devine has signed a new two-and-a-half year contract to remain at the Oval until 2027.

Devine was appointed in March, initially on an interim basis after Warren Feeney left the role before signing a permanent deal in April.

In his first full campaign in charge, Devine has guided the club to the County Antrim Shield final and quarter-finals of the BetMcLean Cup.

The Glens are fifth in the Irish Premiership table after a squad overhaul which saw 12 new players arrive in east Belfast along with 18 departures.

"I'm fully committed to building something truly special here at Glentoran," said Devine, who won the Irish Cup as a goalkeeper with the club in 1996.

"My vision is to create a team that plays a distinctive style of football, consistently competes for silverware, and brings pride and joy to everyone associated with the club."

Image source, Inpho

Linfield moved eight points clear at the Premiership summit with a 3-0 win over Coleraine on Saturday.

The Windsor park hosts dominated the opening 45 minutes against Coleraine but were forced to wait until just before the half hour to break the deadlock with Matthew blasting high into the roof of the net.

Joel Cooper doubled the Blues' advantage with a fine individual goal as he simply waltzed through a static Coleraine defence before curling a low left foot shot past Brown.

There was still time for Fitzpatrick to score his second of the afternoon in the closing stages to complete a comfortable afternoon for the Blues.

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Dungannon struck late to edge Ballymena United 1-0 and move up to second in the table.

After weathering an early spell of Ballymena pressure at the Showgrounds, Dungannon began to dominate.

But the decisive moment came with five minutes left when Joe Moore, only on as a sub, brought down McGinty on the edge of the penalty area.

Andrew Mitchell sent Sean O'Neill the wrong way from the resultant penalty.

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Dungannon Swifts boss Rodney McAree is relishing taking on Premiership leaders Linfield.

The Swifts moved up to second spot on Saturday with a 1-0 win at Ballymena United and sit eight points behind the Blues.

"We look forward to it, it's one we'll enjoy and it will be a great spectacle," said McAree.

"It's a game against one of the biggest clubs in Ireland at home under the lights - we'll challenge ourselves again and try to get something."

Image source, Inpho

Tonight's BetMcLean Cup quarter-final between Ballymena United and Glentoran has been postponed because of a waterlogged Showgrounds pitch.

The decision to call the game off was made on Tuesday afternoon after a pitch inspection.

The Sky Blues and Glens will now meet on the rescheduled date of Tuesday, 7 January.

Image source, pre

Glenavon manager Paddy McLaughlin makes three alterations following his side's 3-3 draw with Coleraine as Mark Haughey, 16-year-old Chris Atherton and Michael O'Connor replace Rhys Marshall, James Carroll and James Doona in the starting XI.

Declan Caddell is forced into two changes this evening as key man Kieran Offord is suspended while Robbie Weir misses out through injury.

In a bold move by the visitors, the duo are replaced by 16-year-olds Josh Williamson and Brandon Downey, the latter making his first league start.

With the north Belfast outfit also naming an inexperienced bench, this fixture could offer a glimpse into the future stars of Irish League football.

Glenavon: Deane, Toure, O’Sullivan, Haughey, Snoddy, Malone, McDaid, Campbell, Atherton, McKeown, O’Connor.

Subs: Byrne, Doona, Lynch, Carroll, Ward, Doran, McGovern.

Crusaders: Tuffey, Callacher, Lowry, Jewitt-White, Blaney, Forsythe, O’Rourke, Williamson, Larmour, Clarke, Downey.

Subs: Kerr, Owens, Vance, Donnelly, Walker, Harrison, Karrabecaj.

Image source, BBC Sport

Rodney McAree makes two changes to the Swifts side who defeated Ballymena United at the weekend.

Leo Alves and Andy Mitchell start with Tomas Galvin dropping to the bench and Dean Curry, who was captain on Saturday, is not in the squad.

There is just the one alteration to the Linfield starting XI who were the comfortable victors against Coleraine at the weekend.

Ethan McGee replaces Stephen Fallon, who is amongst the substitutes. Despite speculation that he is leaving the club, Joel Cooper keeps his place in the starting line-up.

Dungannon Swifts: Dunne, S Scott, McGinty, Mitchell, Wallace, Glenny, Bigirimana, Knowles, Alves, Dillon, McGovern.

Subs: Grogan, J Scott, King, Boyd, Galvin, Maguire, McAleese.

Linfield: Walsh, Roscoe, East, Shields, Millar, Cooper, Hall, McGee, Mulgrew (c), Fitzpatrick, Orr.

Subs: Johns, McDaid, Ballantyne, McKee, Fallon, Archer, Annett.

Image source, BBC Sport

Welcome to our coverage of tonight's two remaining games including the top-of-the-table encounter between Premiership pacesetters Linfield and closest challengers Dungannon Swifts.

The Swifts are having a superb season and moved into second spot with an away victory over Ballymena United on Saturday.

Linfield have opened up an eight-point lead at the top and will push that advantage into double figures with a victory at Stangmore Park.

Glenavon are struggling at the other end of the table and Paddy McLaughlin's side face Crusaders at Mourneview Park.

The BetMcLean Cup quarter-final between Ballymena United and Glentoran was also scheduled for this evening but it was called off because of a waterlogged Showgrounds surface.

We'll bring you live text commentary and in-play clips from both league matches.

Thanks for joining us!

Image source, Inpho