Larne boss Tiernan Lynch raised some eyebrows with the selection of his three main attacking options - David McDaid, Ronan Hale and Lee Bonis - in his starting line-up but so far they have got little change from a resolute Warrenpoint rearguard.

Indeed, the best chance to date has gone to the home side with Luke Wade Slater's looping header clawed behind by Larne keeper Conor Devlin.

Paul Leeman
BBC Sport NI summariser

A powerful first-time effort on the volley by Paul Heatley goes just over the Portadown bar.

First opportunity of the game for the Crues.

Josh Carson smashes one in after the hosts only half-clear a corner but it's straight at Aaron McCarey.

That's the first chance of the game.

Give it to Manzinga seems to be the plan for Linfield in the early stages.

The big Frenchman is taking up a very wide position on the left and is seeing a lot of the ball. Cliftonville will have to keep an eye on him.

And just at the other end they have the first shot of the night, but Jamie McDonagh dragged his shot wide.

Andy Waterworth comes within a whisker of giving Glenavon an early lead as he hooks a shot inches wide from eight yards.

At the other end, Ben Gallagher flashes a shot just wide with Glenavon keeper James Taylor struggling to get near it.

Promising early signs at Mourneview.

It was a pretty low-key opening couple of minutes as the two sides sussed each other out like two heavyweight boxers in the opening stages of a bout.

Then, out of nothing, a long ball forward nearly sends Conor McMenamin free but Gareth Deane reads it well and it out quickly before any danger can develop.

No Paddy McLaughlin on the Cliftonville bench tonight as the manager is suspended,

His assistant Declan O'Hara takes charge in the dugout.

They're up and running at Solitude.

Has all the ingredients being a great game, this.

The Reds will no doubt be right up for it, while the Blues will be keen for what would be a big win in their pursuit of another title.

Who'll get what they are looking for? Let's find out....

Here's a reminder of your teams at Solitude.

Image source, BBC Sport

Image source, BBC Sport

Linfield are on an 11-match unbeaten streak in the league, that consistent run having seen them win nine and draw two of their most recent top flight outings.

Instrumental in that sequence has been the Blues' hugely impressive defensive record this season - with only 11 goals conceded - plus the form of striker Christy Manzinga, who has contributed 16 Premiership goals.

"Christy has been incredible for us this year, he has put in a lot of hard yards and scored crucial goals for us, including another one on Saturday [in a 2-0 victory over Glenavon]," said Blues' manager David Healy.

"It's also great credit to our back four because you're not always going to win games comfortably 3-0 or 4-0, so that kind of consistency is invaluable."

Image source, Inpho

BBC iPlayer

You can watch tonight's title challengers face-off live on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website.

Former Glentoran and Crusaders defender Paul Leeman is on co-commentary duty at Solitude alongside Thomas Kane.

With Warrenpoint currently 12 points adrift of safety, avoiding relegation this season would surely rank as Barry Gray's greatest achievement in his time at Milltown?

Gray makes just one change from Saturday's loss at Ballymena - Warrenpoint's 18th defeat from 22 league games - with Daniel McKenna replacing Stuart Hutchinson.

Larne's title aspirations have faltered thanks to a run of indifferent form in recent weeks but manager Tiernan Lynch will see tonight's game as an opportunity to get back on track.

Suspended duo Kofi Balmer and Mark Randall are replaced by Albert Watson and Fuad Sule, while Conor Devlin is preferred to Rohan Ferguson in goal.

David McDaid also comes into the starting line-up in a three-pronged strikeforce with Ronan Hale and Lee Bonis.

Warrenpoint Town: McMullan, R O'Sullivan, McKenna, Byrne, Leddy, Gallagher, McCaffrey, Ball, Wade Slater, Dillon, A O'Sullivan.

Subs: Coleman, Peers, Hand, Wixted, Moorhouse, Hutchinson, Shotayo.

Larne: Devlin, Cosgrove, Watson, Bolger, Kelly, Sule, Herron, Doherty, Hale, McDaid, Bonis.

Subs: Ferguson, Nasseri, Scott, Lynch, Mitchell, Jarvis, Aretzis.

Image source, BBC Sport

Carrick Rangers' team shows just one alteration from that which took to the field in Saturday's 3-0 defeat by Coleraine.

Alex Gawne comes in for Steven Gordon as Stuart King's side set out to improve on their recent run of drawing two and losing seven of their last nine league games since beating Ballymena 1-0 at the Showgrounds on 20 November.

Carrick also won the first encounter between the sides on 2 October, earning a 2-1 success at Taylors Avenue with a late goal despite having been reduced to 10 men for much of the match.

Ballymena make four changes after beating Warrenpoint 1-0 at Warden Street at the weekend.

Former Finn Harps and Derry City goalkeeper Ciaran Gallagher is handed his debut after being signed on Monday after regular stopper of recent weeks Sam Johnston picked up a hip injury on Saturday.

The club's other goalkeeper, Jordan Williamson, is also sidelined as he awaits knee surgery.

Recent signings Kym Nelson and Mikey Place make their first starts as Ryan Waide is also restored to the starting line-up.

Brendan Barr and Andy McGrory drop to the bench, while David Parkhouse is absent with a hamstring injury.

Ballymena are on a good run, having won five of their last seven league outings.

Carrick Rangers: Skeet, Forsythe, Surgenor, Ervin, Cushley, Gawne, Cherry, Glendinning, Gibson, Tilney, Anderson.

Subs: Shields, Kelly, Kalla, Hoy, Quinn, Chambers, Magill.

Ballymena Utd: Gallagher, Redman, McElroy, Waide, McCullough, Rodgers, Keeley, Millar (capt), Graham, Nelson, Place.

Subs: Kane, Henderson, Barr, McGrory, Bramall, Loughran, Smith.

Image source, BBC Sport

Watch highlights from the Irish Premiership on the BBC iPlayer

Image source, Inpho

At the start of 2022, Dungannon trailed Glenavon by 12 points in the league - a Swifts victory at Mourneview Park tonight would cut that deficit to a single point, after three straight wins for Dean Shiels' side.

Glenavon make three changes from the side which lost at Linfield on Saturday with James Singleton, Jack O'Mahony and Andy Waterworth replacing Sean Ward, Conor McCloskey and Michael O'Connor.

Even Dungannon's stellar recent run of form doesn't prevent Shiels from freshening up his side with four changes from the weekend win over Portadown, with Caolin Coyle, James Knowles, Ben Gallagher and Adam Glenny earning starting positions.

Glenavon: Taylor, O'Mahony, Birney, Haughey, Wallace, Singleton, Snoddy, Garrett, Campbell, Fitzpatrick, Waterworth.

Subs: A Doyle, O'Connor, Hall, McCloskey, Hunter, J Doyle, Ward.

Dungannon Swifts: Dunne, Coyle, McKendry, McGinty, Glenny, Knowles, Mayse, Smyth, Devlin, Campbell, Gallagher.

Subs: Nelson, Glynn, McCready, McGee, Conway, Convie, Walsh.

Image source, BBC Sport

Portadown begin the post-Matthew Tipton era against Crusaders as acting head coach Trevor Williamson takes charge of team affairs for one game and makes just one change from the starting XI which went down 3-1 to Dungannon Swifts on Saturday.

Barney McKeown comes in for Jack Smith.

New interim boss Paul Doolin will watch on, before taking charge ahead of Saturday's game.

Crusaders also make one switch to their starting team, Robbie Weir being drafted in with Philip Lowry dropping to the bench.

The Crues will hope to bounce back after Glentoran halted their six-game unbeaten league run by taking three points from Seaview on Friday.

The 11th-placed Ports have won just two of their 23 Premiership outings during the present campaign.

Stephen Baxter's side have won the two previous meetings between the sides this term - a 4-0 win at Seaview in August and a 2-0 scoreline in their favour at the same venue in November.

Portadown: Barr, Hall, Ruddy (capt), Finnegan, McKeown, Salley, Teggart, Jordan, Dupree, Beverland, Doherty.

Subs: Doherty, McCallum, Lavery, Tipton, Warde, Smith, Lusty.

Crusaders: Tuffey, Burns, Wilson, Weir, Kennedy, Forsythe, Winchester, Larmour, Heatley, Robinson, Clarke

Subs: Pauley, Lowry, Lecky, Caddell, O'Rourke, Owens, McMurray.

Image source, BBC Sport

Watch the best of the goals from the weekend's Irish Premiership action, including Dungannon Swifts' Darragh McBrien's fancy footwork, Robbie McDaid's pinpoint header for Glentoran and Linfield striker Christy Manzinga's neat finish.

For a team that is so used to punching above its weight, Coleraine ended an uncharacteristic seven-game run without a win on Saturday when they put three past Carrick Rangers.

They will need to find similar form this evening against the high-flying Glens, but a well-organised Oran Kearney side can cause any team problems.

The Bannsiders manager has made one change from the weekend with Conor McKendry coming in for former Glens favourite Curtis Allen.

Mick McDermott is without the Donnelly brothers, Rory and Jay, after their mother sadly passed away last week.

In their absence, Michael O'Connor is tasked with leading the line with the deadly duo of Robbie McDaid and Conor McMenamin.

There could be a welcome return for Marcus Kane off the bench after a long-time injury has kept the Glens' skipper on the sidelines.

Glentoran: McCarey, Burns, Marshall, McClean, Marron, Murray, Plum, Clucas, O'Connor, McDaid, McMenamin.

Subs: Kane, McCartan, Mitchell, Smith, Cushnie, Jenkins, Glendinning.

Coleraine: Deane, Kane, Mullan, O'Donnell, Brown, Carson, McKendry, Jarvis, Lowry, McLaughlin, Glackin.

Subs: Gallagher, Wilson, Parkhill, Traynor, Allen, Kelly, Shevlin.

Image source, BBC Sport

A hugely appetising top-of-the-table clash is in store at Solitude this evening as third-placed Cliftonville welcome league leaders and title holders Linfield to north Belfast.

The Blues make the short journey five points ahead of the Reds, and three in front of second-placed Glentoran, after making sure they stayed out in front with a 2-0 home win over Glenavon on Saturday.

Tonight’s hosts had an impressive win themselves on their last outing, when Ryan Curran’s early header gave them a 1-0 away victory over Larne on Friday night.

Boss Paddy McLaughlin makes no changes to his team from that trip to Inver Park, meaning record goalscorer Joe Gormley must again be content with a place on the bench.

There are two changes for Linfield, with manager David Healy starting on-loan Rangers striker Chris McKee after he opened his account for the club on Saturday. Ryan Newberry comes in at the back as well, with Niall Quinn and Ahmed Salam dropping out. Jordan Stewart is back and on the bench two weeks after being injured in the Co Antrim Shield final.

Cliftonville: McNicholas, McDermott, Ives, R. Curran, McDonagh, Lowe, Addis, Doherty, Turner, Gallagher, Kearns

Subs:McKenna, Harney, Curran, O'Neill, Donnelly, Gormley, Coates.

Linfield: Johns, Roscoe, Newberry, Callacher, Millar, Manzinga, M. Clarke, McClean, Fallon, Mulgrew, McKee.

Subs: Walsh, Stewart, Devine, Donnelly, A Clarke, Palmer, Carroll.

Image source, BBC Sport