It's back to the Sports Direct Premiership on Tuesday night where Larne come to visit in the rearranged fixture from the start of the season. A solid win against Knockbreda in the Irish Cup on Saturday has set Crusaders up for this one while Larne will be looking to get back to winning ways after being put out of the Irish Cup on Saturday by Limavady United.
Crusaders will be building on the last few games performances and ready to play the current Irsih League Champions despite still missing key players. A solid debut by new striker Josh O'Connor could see him partner KIeran Offord up front if the latter passes a fitness test that saw him miss the last few games. Ross Clarke came off as a precaution on Saturday but should play with Harry Jewitt- White also to be assesssed but the team who take the field will give it their all for Crusaders. Down to the bones Declan Caddell will assess the squad and put his best eleven on the field and with the return of Stewart Nixon and Lewis Barr to the squad of late he does have a small degree of flexibility when it comes to picking players or starting them to the bench if needed. The management team will have their homework done for this one and will feel Larne are there for the taking and with it a move back into the business end of the Premiership table.
Larne will be hurting from the Irish Cup exit but they now have a clear run at the Premiership with little distraction and a lot of games to catch up. The highly financed assembled squad may be freshened up after the defeat on Saturday but Crusaders will still face a formidable team whoever plays. Larne threw all the “big guns” on on Saturday but they could not put the ball in the net so whover starts will be looking to change that and the Johnny Tuffey and the defence could be in for a busy night and will be ready for it. The main men to watch are Andy Ryan and Benji Magee if they start while Paul O'Neill is also a threat if selected. Larne have a lot of games in hand and a win on Tuesday will give them a foot up as they catch up and Crusaders will be ready.
So we go again and we want you with us. Let's make Seaview a sea of noise like Boxing Day and be the 12th man. Tickets are available at www.crusadersfc.com anytime or from Harry D's until 6pm on match night. After that they can be bought at the Ticket Office from 6.15pm to kick off. It will be good too see you in the stands getting behind Declan and the team as we start to build the all important run together and push into the top three. C'mon the Crues.