Ryan Schofield comes out to claim a cross deep into the heart of the Coleraine penalty area.

Better from the visitors.

Colin Coates
Former Crusaders captain on BBC iPlayer

It's been quite a quiet start.

I think Coleraine can move the ball quicker. At times it is a bit comfortable for them at the back. If they move with a little bit more tempo, it may open up opportunities.

Ruaidhri Higgins will be looking for them to play with a little bit more intent than they are at the minute.

Image source, Press Eye

Bangor break quickly with Tiarnan Mulvenna finding Michael Morgan but the striker's weak shot is easily blocked.

Larne striker Tiarnan O'Connor over-runs the ball over the bye-line and then collides heavily with an advertising hoarding behind the goal.

There's a brief moment of concern but happily, the frontman is back up and into the action.

Coleraine dominating possession in the opening minutes but are yet to test Jacob Carney in the visitors' goal.

Larne cleverly work a short corner out to the in-rushing Chris Gallagher on the edge of the penalty area but Bangor's Stephen McGuinness is quick to spot the danger with a great block.

Larne striker Tiarnan O'Connor spots a gap just outside the Bangor penalty area and lets fly with a fierce shot which goes not far over Gareth Deane's goal.

Senan Devine's cross from a quickly taken corner is unable to pick out Mark Connolly at the back post.

Larne have conceded just three goals at Inver Park in all competitions this season.

Interestingly, Bangor striker Ben Arthurs has been responsible for two of those goals - one in a 1-1 league draw in October and the other in a League Cup defeat a month later.

Bangor boss Lee Feeney would love to see his prolific frontman on the scoresheet again tonight!

Colin Coates
Former Crusaders captain on BBC iPlayer

It's a big ask for Glenavon [to avoid automatic relegation]. It's a big ask because the gap is so vast. That is a four-game swing, they need to go on a run and win four or five games in a row.

The problem for them is that teams in front have been picking up points and have been winning games when not fancied to.

An early corner for the home side.

Referee Mark Dillon starts the action at Inver Park.

No visiting team has left the east Antrim venue victorious since Dungannon Swifts 11 months ago.

Can Bangor alter that statistic this evening?

Glenavon's Gavin Gilmore gets us underway amid the rain on the north coast.

Coleraine have won both previous fixtures this season but head coach Ruaidhri Higgins admits he is expecting a stiffer challenge from a Glenavon team bolstered by a number of new arrivals.

Will the ensuing 90 minutes remain faithful to the script, or will there be a twist in the tale tonight...?

A quick reminder of tonight's two Irish Premiership game.

Image source, BBC Sport NI/ Pacemaker Press

BBC iPlayer

You can now watch the match from the Coleraine Showgrounds now by clicking the 'Watch live' icon or on the BBC iPlayer and app.

Thomas Kane is joined on commentary duties by former Glenavon assistant manager Colin Coates.

Second placed Coleraine host basement club Glenavon at the Showgrounds in a game that has implications at both ends of the table.

A win for the home side would see them keep pace with league leaders Larne while three points for the visitors is a must if they are to put any sort of pressure on the teams above them as they seek to avoid the drop.

Bannsiders boss Ruaidhri Higgins shuffles his pack for this game, making four changes to the starting XI which dispensed with Crusaders here six days ago.

Dylan Boyle, Ben Wylie, and James Akintunde drop to the bench, while Levi Ives misses out through injury.

In their place come Dean Jarvis, Zane Okoro, Senan Devine and former Shelbourne skipper Mark Coyle, making his first start since arriving in the January transfer window.

Head coach Michael O'Connor rings the changes from Glenavon's defeat at home to Glentoran last time out as Ben Wilson and Conor Falls haven't recovered from knocks and Stephen Mallon is listed among the replacements.

On loan Glentoran striker Nathaniel Ferris returns after being ineligible to play against his parent club last week while Peter Campbell and Sean Carlin are both recalled.

Coleraine: Schofield, Jarvis, Patching, Shevlin, Cooper, Dunne (c), McDonald, Okoro, Coyle, Connolly, Devine.

Subs: Webb, Kane, Boyle, McGonigle, Stewart, Wylie, Akintunde.

Glenavon: Carney, McMullan, Burns, Murphy, McKeown (c), Campbell, Ferris, Gilmore, Carlin, McGovern, Quinn.

Subs: Byrne, Cartwright, Mallon, McClelland, Lindsay, Mountney, McGerrigan.

Image source, BBC Sport

Coleraine manager Ruaidhri Higgins says Glenavon represent "a different proposition now" to earlier in the season as the sides prepare to meet in Friday night's Irish Premiership game, which will be broadcast live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.

Coleraine sit second in the table, eight points behind leaders Larne, before their encounter with the Lurgan Blues at Ballycastle Road.

Glenavon remain rooted to the bottom, 11 points adrift of 11th-placed Carrick Rangers, despite notable home wins over Belfast sides Glentoran and Linfield in recent months.

The Bannsiders ran out 2-1 winners when the sides met in the league at Mourneview Park in August, with Higgins' team again getting the better of the Lurgan Blues in the reverse fixture in early November, this time on an emphatic 5-1 scoreline.

"He [Michael] has done a good job since he went in there. They made life very difficult for Glentoran at the weekend [losing 2-1], there was very little in that match.

"And they've recruited well – they've signed good players, they're now a different proposition to what they were earlier in the season

"It's an extremely dangerous game and one that we have to be fully focused on. If we don't approach it mentally in the right manner then you can slip up.

"But I hope we now have a group of players that are extremely professional and are ready to go."

Some of the managers in charge of part-time Premiership clubs have indicated that they believe switching games from Saturdays to Friday nights provides an advantage to their full-time counterparts.

Higgins has some sympathy with this argument but sees a range of benefits of playing some matches on a Friday evening.

"From speaking to people around the club here, financially, for the club, it seems to be better [Friday night games].

"There are positives and negatives to it but you look at the amount of people who play in Saturday leagues who are missing out coming here on a Saturday.

"From a negative point of view, we would have a session less to prepare than what we would if it was a Saturday game, so you're losing that advantage.

"Instead of training four or five times you're training three or four times. So there's pros and cons to it.

"In my opinion, and not everyone will agree with my opinion, there's many reasons why it's a good thing and one or two why it's not."

Image source, Inpho

Watch highlights as Glentoran held on to beat Glenavon 2-1 in the Irish Premiership.

Watch highlights as Coleraine fight back to beat Crusaders 5-1 at the Showgrounds in the Irish Premiership.

Pacesetters Larne make three changes from the side which stretched their unbeaten league run to 15 games at Windsor Park seven days ago.

Midfielder Ronan Doherty makes his debut following his midweek switch from title rivals Coleraine, while Aaron Donnelly returns to the centre of defence following injury and striker Andy Ryan starts for the first time this season after a handful of substitute appearances folloiwng a long-term knee injury.

Paul O'Neill and Logan Wallace drop to the bench while Ryan Nolan isn't in the panel at all. Conor McKendry is suspended after picking up a fifth yellow card last weekend.

Bangor manager Lee Feeney's team selection is fairly straightforward with top scorer Ben Arthurs preferred to Jay Boyd in attack, in the only change from the side which started last weekend's home win over Portadown.

Larne: Ferguson, Cosgrove, Ridley, Donnelly, S Graham, Gallagher, Doherty, McEneff, Millar, O'Connor, Ryan.

Subs: D Graham, O'Neill, Magee, Lusty, Austin, Wallace, Simpson.

Bangor: Deane, Hughes, Lynch, Francis, Neale, Harrison, McGuinness, Mulvenna, Fallon, Morgan, Arthurs.

Subs: Solis Grogan, Owens, Hassin, Cushnie, Garrett, Boyd, Mitchell.

Image source, BBC Sport