After observing a minute's silence, hosts Crusaders get us under way under ideal conditions at Seaview.

Matthew Shevlin gets us under way on an overcast afternoon on the north coast.

Coleraine, with assistant coach Conor Loughery in charge today following the suspensions of head coach Ruaidhri Higgins and second in charge Kevin Deery, are hoping for a first league win over the Reds in 15 games.

Referee Steven Gregg starts the action at a sunny Ballymena Showgrounds.

Carrick know that anything less than a victory today will ensure that they will be playing in the bottom six after next week’s league ‘split’.

Ballymena’s concern is more pressing as they need points to pull away from the possibility of finishing in the relegation play-off position.

Linfield midfielder Kirk Millar said that the side "know it has not been good enough this year" ahead of Sunday's BetMcLean Cup final against Glentoran (15:00 GMT).

This is the first time in 16 years that Glentoran and Linfield have played in a final as the Blues aim to clinch the trophy for the 13th time.

Despite still being in the race for the Premiership title, it has been a turbulent season for the defending champions.

David Healy's side were knocked out of the Irish Cup by Championship side Limavady and the County Antrim Shield after a 4-1 loss against 10-man Cliftonville.

"It's always a chance to redeem yourself. I think as a team and a group we know it has not been good enough this year," Millar told BBC Sport NI.

"The consistency hasn't been there. It's just not what we are used to be either. As a Linfield player you need to be winning every week and competing every week.

"You have to win something at Linfield every year and it's just unacceptable not to be winning anything. There's anxiety and stress around it all year round and, if you're not winning anything at Linfield, it's probably the worst place in the world to be."

Read the full article here.

Image source, Pacemaker Press

Glentoran captain Marcus Kane said that he initially thought the introduction of video assistant referee [VAR] for Sunday's BetMcLean Cup final against Linfield "was a joke".

The Glens will face rivals Linfield for the silverware in their first cup final against each other for 16 years.

The decider is also the first time that VAR will be used in domestic football in Northern Ireland.

"No, I didn't have a clue," Kane said when asked if he knew the decision had been made to introduce VAR for the final before the announcement.

"I still thought it was a joke and I thought it was AI [artificial intelligence]. Loads of things go through your head but you have a final to think about.

"For me, it feels like it has been sprung on everybody, not just Glentoran but Linfield [too]."

Read the full article here.

Image source, Inpho

This year's BetMcLean Cup final between Linfield and Glentoran at Windsor Park is a hugely anticipated one as it brings together the traditional Belfast 'Big Two' rivals in a cup decider for the first time in 16 years.

This final has become more of a showpiece occasion in recent years and with a huge crowd set to converge on the south Belfast venue on Sunday, it promises to be a colourful and thrilling occasion.

As well as contesting the silverware, the two finalists have the added incentive of qualification for the Irish Premiership's European play-off final in May, that prize being on the line for the first time for whoever picks up the trophy.

With the countdown to the final well and truly on, BBC Sport NI tells you all you need to know before the 15:00 GMT kick-off on Sunday.

Image source, Inpho

Ballymena aim to finish a run of four successive home games with their first victory of that sequence as they host Carrick Rangers.

Sky Blues boss Oran Kearney makes three changes from the side which drew with Portadown seven days ago.

Jack O'Reilly's injury-time equaliser after coming on as sub earns him a start, while Kian Corbally returns from suspension and Aaron Jarvis starts.

Fuad Sule is missing through illness, Joel Thompson isn't in the squad and Dean Ebbe drops to the bench, where he is joined by midfielder Donal Rocks, who has been out since August after knee surgery.

Carrick boss Stephen Baxter makes one change from their last outing, when their eight-game unbeaten run ended at Glentoran, with Joe Crowe replacing Kyle Cherry.

Ballymena United: Wade, Toure, McCallion, O'Donnell, Clarke, Jarvis, McGeouch, Murray, Corbally, O'Reilly, Rutkowski.

Subs: Breen, Lafferty, Rocks, Ebbe, McCurry, McEleney, Hood.

Carrick Rangers: Gartside, Place, Burns, McCullough, Buchanan-Rolleston, Crowe, Snoddy, Steele, Moore, Heatley, Gibson.

Subs: Donnelly, Waide, Glendinning, McKay, Mccawl, Olosunde, Jeffers.

Image source, BBC Sport

Watch highlights as Ballymena United level late to earn a share of the spoils against Portadown in a largely forgettable affair at the Showgrounds.

It doesn't get much more important than this for these two sides as the Premiership's bottom two go head-to-head here at Seaview.

Crusaders manager Declan Caddell will hope his outfit can recover quickly from their midweek 1-0 loss to Cliftonville, thanks to a 93rd winner from Joe Gormley.

Caddell makes four changes to that starting XI and will be ecstatic to welcome back long-term absentee Robbie Weir to the midfield as skipper.

Jonny Tuffey is back in goal with Musa Dibaga dropping to the bench. Finley Thorndike is also back in the starting line-up alongside Keiran McKechnie.

Having looked certain for relegation at Christmas, Glenavon know that a win today would lift them off the foot of the table for the first time since early in the season.

Manager Michael O'Connor, unsurprisingly, makes just the one switch to the side that demolished Portadown 3-0 last time out. Jordan McMullan returns to the defence in place of John Mountney.

Crusaders: Tuffey; Bruce, Rough, Barr, Forsythe, McCart, Weir (C), Thorndike, Dunlop, Bryden, McKechnie.

Subs: Dibaga; Blayney, Williamson, Nixon, Maguire, Anderson, Brooks.

Glenavon: Carney; McMullan, McKeown (C), Murphy, Burns, Carlin, McGovern, McGerrigan, Campbell, Falls, Ferris.

Subs: Cartwright; Mallon, Lowe, Gilmore, Harkin, Lindsay, Quinn.

Image source, BBC Sport

Relegations struggles are not something that any club wants to deal with but, if your team can produce a dramatic fightback and claw their way to safety, a season to forget can quickly turn into a season to be remembered for a great escape.

After 11 games this season, Glenavon were without a point and were rock bottom of the Irish Premiership table.

Now, they remain in 12th position, but they have registered seven points in their last three games to close the gap while the team above them, 11th-placed Crusaders, have secured just one point in their last eight matches.

Ahead of the side's penultimate match against each other this season on Saturday, BBC Sport NI takes a look at what is at stake in the race to avoid the drop to the Championship.

Read the full article here.

Image source, Pacemaker Press

Irish Premiership side Glenavon have confirmed a proposed investment from Football International Limited has been completed.

In January, the Lurgan Blues announced they had entered a "strategic partnership" with the English-based consortium, who will acquire a majority shareholding in the club through a "staged investment programme" over five years.

The deal has now been signed off by shareholders and sees Cathal Morrison, Alberto Valdes, Michael Stephens, and Christopher Parry join the board of directors with immediate effect.

According to Glenavon's statement issued on Friday, they will work alongside existing leadership to support the club both strategically and operationally going forward.

Glenavon chairman Warren McCleary said the deal would "secure the financial future of the club" and bring in expertise that would "improve the performance of every aspect" of the club.

"The club have been exploring the option of external investment for some time, and we believe we have found the perfect investment partner," read the statement.

"We are really excited to have completed this deal with Football International Limited."

Morrison, one of the new directors, has previously worked in scouting positions at West Ham and was a director for Altrincham between 2020 and 2022.

"As a multi-national group with partners spread across Europe and North America, we fully recognise the deep history and pride associated with Glenavon Football Club and Northern Irish football in general," he said.

"Our intention is to protect that history going forward, support the club in measured and responsible ways, and build a legacy together."

Image source, Inpho

Cliftonville were the victors in the north Belfast derby thanks to Joe Gormley's goal in the 93rd minute.

Fourth place Coleraine host the team immediately below them in the table as the pre-split fixtures near their conclusion.

The Bannsiders will look to take advantage of Linfield and Glentoran's participation in Sunday's BetMcLean Cup final while the Reds can extend their winning run to five games with victory this afternoon.

The hosts' starting XI shows three changes to that which began last week's Irish Cup win over Limavady United.

Dean Jarvis, Zane Okoro and James Akintunde drop to the bench with Matthew Shevlin, Ben Wylie and Charles Dunne coming in.

Visiting manager Jim Magilton makes just the one change from the midweek win against Crusaders with Joe Sheridan replacing Adebayo Fapetu, who fails to make the match day squad.

Coleraine: Schofield, Patching, Shevlin, Cooper, Ives, Dunne, McDonald, Wylie, Coyle, Connolly, Devine.

Subs: Webb, Jarvis, Boyle, McGonigle, Stewart, Okoro, Akintunde.

Cliftonville: Morrison, Addis, Hale, Curran, Leppard, Conlan, Toole, McStravick, Kelly, Hawthorne, Sheridan.

Subs: Ridd, McCay, Glynn, Robertson, Kelly, Healy, Carroll.

Image source, BBC Sport

Watch highlights as Coleraine beat Limavady United 2-0 in the Irish Cup quarter-finals.

Here is a reminder as to who plays who in the Irish Premiership this afternoon.

Image source, BBC Sport

Watch highlights from Inver Park as Larne moved five points clear at the top of the Irish Premiership with a win over Dungannon Swifts.

Two goals from Andy Ryan helped Larne extend their advantage at the top of the Irish Premiership to five points after a 2-1 win over Dungannon Swifts at Inver Park.

A stunning free-kick from Ryan broke the deadlock on 22 minutes before the striker doubled their advantage from the spot just before the break.

In the 89th minute, Andrew Mitchell's superb strike halved Larne's lead, but Rodney McAree's side couldn't find another late goal.

On Saturday, Ballymena United host Carrick Rangers as Cliftonville travel to face Coleraine and, in a huge game at the bottom of the table, Crusaders welcome Glenavon to Seaview.

Read the full article here.

Image source, Pacemaker Press

Here is how the table looks ahead of this afternoon's Irish Premiership action.

Image source, BBC Sport/Inpho

Hello and welcome to our live text commentary for today's three Irish Premiership matches.

In a relegation six-pointer the bottom two in the Irish Premiership, Crusaders and Glenavon, meet at Seaview this afternoon.

At the Ballymena Showgrounds, Ballymena United host Carrick Rangers as Stephen Baxter's side aim to continue their impressive run.

In today's other game, Coleraine welcome Cliftonville, who have won their last four fixtures without conceding a goal.

We will have a live text commentary from all the games as well as in-play clips with a match report, highlights and reaction to follow.

Sportsound will also be live on BBC Radio Ulster from 16:30 GMT with football coverage, after Ireland's huge match against Scotland in the Six Nations.

Thanks for joining us today. Enjoy!

Image source, Inpho