Carrick boss Stephen Baxter will be hoping to get back to winning ways today after last week's 2-1 loss to Cliftonville brought to an end their impressive unbeaten start to the season.

Baxter makes just the one change with the injured Adam Lecky dropping out and Nedas Maciulaitis coming into the midfield.

With Bangor manager Lee Feeney still serving a suspension that he picked up against today's opponents two weeks ago in the Co Antrim Shield, John Douglas takes charge of the side today.

He makes three changes to the side that lost comprehensively to Larne last time out. Lewis Francis, Robert Garrett and Oisin Devlin all come into the side as the Seasiders aim for their third win of the campaign.

Carrick Rangers: Gartside, Scott, Callacher, McCullough, McKay, Steele, Crowe, Snoddy, Maciulaitis, Heatley, Gibson.

Subs: Pengelly, Burns, Waide, Boyd, Buchanan-Rolleston, Cherry, James.

Bangor: Deane, Neale (c), Haughey, Hassin, Mulvenna, Arthurs, Cushnie, Lynch, Francis, Garrett, Devlin.

Subs: Grogan, Owens, Boyd, McGuinness, Morgan, Osew.

Image source, BBC Sport

Cliftonville make one change from the side which ended Carrick’s unbeaten start last week as Adebayo Fapetu replaces Shea Gordon, who is named among the substitutes.

Ballymena boss Jim Ervin makes three changes from the side which lost to Glentoran, with Kym Nelson and Success Edogun starting in the league for the first time this season, while Aaron Jarvis also returns to the starting line-up.

Joel Thompson, Ali Gould and Kian Corbally are the players to make way.

Cliftonville: Morrison, Pepper, Casey, Keaney, Addis, Glynn, Wilson, Fapetu, Hale, Bermingham, Gormley.

Subs: Ridd, Curran, Gordon, Barr, Rovertson, McWoods, Sheridan.

Ballymena United: O’Neill, Toure, O’Donnell, Clarke, Nelson, Jarvis, McEleney, O’Reilly, Kennedy, McCurry, Edogn.

Subs: Breen, Lafferty, Gould, Thompson, McCallion, McNickle, Hood.

Image source, BBC Sport

Some football fans in the north west have been left "angry" and "want answers" after several local clubs failed to progress under the Northern Ireland Football Fund.

Derry City, Institute, Coleraine, and Limavady United were among the clubs not to progress in the process to receive a share of the £36.2m in funding.

Derry City fan Carmel McConnellogue said both Candystripes and Institute supporters were incredibly disappointed and wanted to know why their applications had been rejected.

The Communities Minister, Gordon Lyons, said he fully appreciated the concerns that exist in the north west but denied that the decisions had anything to do with geography or his own view..

Read more about this here.

Image source, Institute/Emma Doherty

"It's a great day for some clubs but it's an absolutely shocking day for others."

Coleraine manager Ruaidhri Higgins was giving his reaction to Thursday's landmark announcement about the long-awaited stadia funding in Northern Ireland.

After a 14-year delay from when it was first announced, 20 clubs discovered they had progressed to the next stage of the Northern Ireland Football Fund to improve their facilities.

Those clubs, out of the 38 who applied, will progress to the next stage of assessment before funding is handed out.

While the £36.2m of money announced in 2011 is guaranteed, Communities Minister Gordon Lyons said the 20 successful projects had a total estimated cost of "just over £82m", and "estimated total project costs" came to £98m.

It was acknowledged the process and announcement of funding would leave some clubs disappointed, while others celebrated.

From "delighted" to "a disgrace", BBC Sport has spoken to some of the clubs impacted by Thursday's announcement.

Read more about the various reactions to the NI Football Fund announcement here.

Image source, Pacemaker

Gerard Lawlor, chief executive of the Northern Ireland Football League, says the extra funding required for the Northern Ireland Football Fund is "not insurmountable".

On Thursday it was announced that 20 clubs, of 38 applicants, would progress to the next stage in a bid to secure long-awaited funding.

When announcing the successful applicants, Lyons estimated the departmental cost of all 20 projects was "just over £82m", and "estimated total project costs" came to £98m.

Those totals far exceed the £36.2 million that had been ringfenced for stadia funding across Northern Ireland, and Lyons added he was pushing to secure additional funding.

"We know what we need. We're speaking to the Minister and other political parties," Lawlor told BBC Sport NI's Stephen Watson.

"The Minister has assured me he's trying to get that funding and we're trying to bring the other parties on that journey."

Image source, Inpho

Twenty clubs have progressed to the next stage of the long-awaited Northern Ireland Football Fund.

Of the 41 clubs eligible for the stadia funding, 38 applied and 20 have now been successful for the next stage.

The funding was initially announced in 2011 and, after 14 years of delays, progress was made in January when the Northern Ireland Executive announced that clubs could apply for a share of the £36.2m set aside.

Glentoran and Cliftonville are the two clubs who were successful in progressing in the third and most expensive tier, with funding applications of more than £6m.

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons said Thursday's announcement is not a guarantee of funding, and further assessments and "rigorous due diligence checks" will take place before money is allocated.

Coleraine, Crusaders and Portadown were the three eligible Irish Premiership clubs who were not listed by Lyons.

Championship sides Ards and Institute, who are hoping to build their own stadiums, and League of Ireland side Derry City were also not included in the successful applicants.

Lyons estimated the departmental cost of all 20 projects was "just over £82m", and "estimated total project costs" came to £98m.

Read more about the clubs who progress to the next stage of the allocation process here..

Image source, Inpho

Glentoran goal scorer Pat Hoban said that his side did "ride our luck" in their pulsating 1-1 draw with Linfield at the Oval.

Hoban scored a penalty to put the Glens ahead in the first half with Chris Shields equalising from the spot for the Blues.

In an end-to-end second half, both sides had chances to win it with Sean Brown smashing the crossbar and Jordan Jenkins firing over in the dying seconds, but Hoban thought a draw was a fair result.

"It was a thrilling encounter, I think the ball turned over too much on our behalf and we gave them too many chances first half, but we got over that and started playing decent stuff and created some chances," he told BBC Sport NI's Gavin Andrews.

"We conceded a penalty, it was hard to see from my angle but I thought the foul started outside the box, but the ref said it was inside, so you have to take it on the chin.

"We did ride our luck at the end, and it could have went any way. Both sides will probably take the point."

Image source, Presseye

Linfield manager David Healy said he thought his side "were the better team" in Friday's 1-1 Irish Premiership draw with Glentoran at the Oval but "didn't get their rewards".

Pat Hoban's penalty had the hosts one goal to the good at the interval but Chris Shields' spot-kick in the second half restored parity.

"A brilliant advertisement, two teams going at it," reflected the Blues boss in an interview with BBC Sport NI after the game.

"We kept going and were rewarded with at least an equaliser. We were down here last year and huffed and puffed and didn't get the equaliser, but we did tonight.

"On reflection, I thought towards the end of the game we were the team looking in the ascendancy and that were going to score."

Read more of what the Linfield boss had to say to BBC Sport NI after the game here.

Image source, Pacemaker

Watch the best of the action from Friday night's 1-1 Irish Premiership draw between Glentoran and Linfield at 1-1.

Read Lauren McCann's report on the match and analysis of the game here.

Good afternoon and welcome to our coverage of this afternoon's five-match Irish Premiership programme.

Last night's thrilling 1-1 draw between Belfast rivals Glentoran and Linfield got the top flight weekend action off to a pulsating start and today it's the turn of the other 10 clubs in the top division to show what they can do.

Friday's result saw the Glens move four points clear at the top of the table but unbeaten Coleraine have the opportunity to cut that gap to one when they travel to Shamrock Park to face Portadown today.

Larne have won three and drawn one of their past four league outings and they will be out to continue that promising sequence when they host bottom-of-the-table Glenavon, who have yet to pick up a point after six matches.

Cliftonville try to make it three league wins in a row when they entertain Ballymena United, who have lost their last two, while Carrick Rangers will want to get back to winning ways at home to Bangor after they suffered their first reverse of the campaign last week at the hands of Cliftonville.

Dungannon Swifts are at home to Crusaders in the day's other match.

We will bring you the usual uo-to-date information on all the action as it unfolds courtesy of Sportsound on BBC Radio Ulster and BBC Sounds, text commentary from each of the fixtures, plus in-play clips from the key moments, a match report, highlights and reaction.

It promises to be an exciting afternoon. Stay with us, we have you covered.