Mark Sterling
BBC Sport NI at Windsor Park

Sitting at the desk beside NI stat man Marshall Gillespie and his remark of "that's just rubbing it in" as Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline comes on the stadium sound system rings very true.

It's long been an adopted anthem of the Green and White Army, but there's none of them here, of course.

That will never, ever feel anything but very strange - and more than a little sad - but the show must go on.

The USA are in town and there's a game to be played. And the potential for what would be a much-needed win for Northern Ireland.

CRISIS OVER. I've had to press channel up over 100 times on my cable box but sorted now.

Hmm. If I was a toddler where would I put a remote control?

OK I've got an issue here. My toddler appears to have lost our remote control. And I've been watching Bray Wanderers v Treaty United on my Xbox so have no way of turning on the TV box unless I can find it. Wish me luck.

Northern Ireland are yet to win a game in 90 minutes in nine attempts under Ian Baraclough.

"Winning is a habit, and once you get into a rut it can get into your mind," said the 50-year-old.

"On paper it is called a friendly but I will be trying to press on the players that there are no friendlies any more. There is a purpose to it and it is part of the preparation.

"The USA have some real stand-out performers and they are a good team. We will have to be at the top of our game to get something from it but winning is a habit and we need to start getting that habit back."

Image source, PA

USA and Manchester City keeper Zack Steffen: "Teams like Northern Ireland and Wales are big, physical, and are going to put the ball in the box.

"They're going to be tough to break down offensively. We see a lot of the Concacaf teams so it's good to get fresh faces and fresh teams. These European teams are very strong so it's going to be a really good test for us."

Northern Ireland lost their opening World Cup qualifier 2-0 to Italy on Thursday, and face Bulgaria in their next game on Wednesday.

Image source, .

United States coach Gregg Berhalter: "It will be a big challenge for us.

"It's a very physical team with height, strength and aggressiveness. They were disappointed in their qualifier against Italy but if you see the second half they really put pressure on Italy and were really aggressive.

"I expect them to make a number of changes... but they are a good team, organised, compact in a 5-3-2 shape and difficult to break down so it presents a number of different challenges for us."

The US beat Jamaica 4-1 in Austria on Thursday.

Kyle Lafferty captains a team for the first time in his career today as he earns his 81st cap.

He has failed to score in his last 22 internationals since 2016.

"I'm hopeful that if one goal hits the back of the net more goals will follow," the Kilmarnock player said.

"I'm confident in my ability to get more goals for my country again and once the first one hits the net, I expect plenty more to come."

Boss Ian Baraclough said: "When Kyle Lafferty is hitting the target regularly he's going to be a big asset for us.

"He's gone to Kilmarnock, he's got that move and he's settled. It's very good to see him hitting the target so quickly after getting to a new club and that can only be good for us.

"Kyle shot this country to the Euros in 2016. You need a goal-scorer to get six, seven, eight goals in a campaign if you're going to qualify and Kyle certainly did that and more.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia is my favourite TV show so was delighted to see this Northern Ireland video during my research earlier.

Northern Ireland boss Ian Baraclough has previously said Accrington Stanley striker Dion Charles will make his senior debut today.

The 25-year-old has scored 17 goals for the League One side this season.

"Dion will play some part in it and it is important that we get to have a look at him. He has been chosen for a reason," said Baraclough.

"I'm sure he was disappointed not to be involved against Italy but it is difficult for someone to fit in with a new group, they don't know him and he doesn't know them.

"We've allowed him time to bed in, he's enjoyed it and he'll be looking forward to some sort of game time."

Mark Sterling
BBC Sport NI at Windsor Park

Ian Baraclough was always going to make wholesale changes to his Northern Ireland starting line-up for this match.

One change that hasn't happened, though, is a place in the team for Dion Charles. The Accrington striker got his first call-up to the squad for this camp and, when he wasn't named on the bench for Thursday's World Cup qualifier defeat by Italy, a lot of people may have expected to see him named in the side this evening.

Instead, in-form Linfield striker Shayne Lavery plays up front alongside captain-for-the-day Kyle Lafferty in what looks like a 4-4-2 formation - though with Baraclough's selections recently it has not always been easy to predict the team's shape.

It is a very inexperienced centre-half partnership of Dan Ballard and Ciaron Brown, with Celtic's Conor Hazard winning his second cap in goal.

NI make 10 changes from their 2-0 defeat by Italy. Only Corry Evans stays in the XI.

There are second caps for keeper Conor Hazard, defender Ciaron Brown and midfielder Matty Kennedy.

The USA XI is full of players who play for some of Europe's top teams, including Manchester City keeper Zach Steffen, Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic, Borussia Dortmund midfielder Gio Reyna and Barcelona defender Sergino Dest. Valencia and Fulham are also represented.

BBC Radio Ulster

You can listen to radio commentary of this game from BBC Radio Ulster at the top of this page towards kick-off.

Gavin Andrews presents the action with Michael McNamee on commentary and John O’Neill providing the analysis.

Hello and welcome to live text commentary of Northern Ireland's friendly against the United States at Windsor Park.

It is what it is.