Just nine points separate Dungannon Swifts in fifth place and Bangor in eighth.

With Larne, Coleraine, Glentoran and Linfield looking nailed on to finish in the top half there are just two more spots up for grabs.

A rare win for the Swifts away to the Blues on Tuesday would help them to move closer to a second successive top half finish and leave them just three points off David Healy's side, with boss Rodney McAree stating that is their target.

Carrick are eight points further behind, but occupy sixth by virtue of their tremendous turnaround in form.

They are unbeaten in their last five games and will fancy their chances of extending that record when they host struggling Glenavon.

The other two sides who are just a point off Stephen Baxter's team are Cliftonville and Bangor, who meet at Solitude on Tuesday.

It's been a turbulent period on and off the pitch for Cliftonville, which culminated in the resignation of chairman Kieran Harding on Saturday soon after their dramatic late Irish Cup win over Glenavon.

Boss Jim Magilton hopes that victory can be the catalyst for an upturn in their league form as their last league win came on 13 December.

Bangor have also hit a sticky patch following their bright start to life back in the top flight.

They have lost their last three league games, but they did beat the Reds in August and picked up a point against them in December.

Image source, Inpho

A tough start to 2026 has increased scrutiny on manager Niall Currie.

The Ports are ninth in the table, but have lost their last three league games, with Carrick strolling to a 3-0 victory at Shamrock Park in their previous league encounter.

Currie's side were dumped out of the Irish Cup by holders Dungannon Swifts on Saturday, so their focus will now be on the league and ensuring they pull away from the relegation picture.

It can be done with a few wins, as evidenced by Carrick's remarkable turnaround, but their next four fixtures are all against sides above them, starting with Coleraine away on Tuesday before games against Larne, Cliftonville and Dungannon Swifts.

The Bannsiders will be hoping to capitalise on any potential slip-ups from Larne at Inver Park and extend their own three game winning streak in the league to cement second position in the league and their involvement in European competition next season, without having to go through the play-offs.

Image source, Inpho

Image source, Inpho

There is no better place to start than at the top of the table, where Irish Premiership leaders Larne will look to extend their advantage when they host Glentoran.

The in-form Inver Reds, who beat Warrenpoint Town on Saturday to progress in the Irish Cup, are eight points clear of second place Coleraine with a game in hand and 13 ahead of the Glens.

Larne's last league defeat was against Dungannon Swifts on the 4 October and their long unbeaten run has been key to them pulling away from the chasing pack.

They picked up an impressive 4-1 victory over the Glens at the Oval last month and with Andy Ryan back fit and firing and the likes of Paul O'Neill and Tiernan O'Connor among those chipping in with important goals, they will be confident of pulling off another big result which would move them closer to a third title in four years.

Glentoran, meanwhile, have bounced back well from that heavy home defeat by Larne last month.

Buoyed by a number of impressive January additions and the form of striker Pat Hoban, who has 15 league goals already, the Glens have won their last four in all competitions.

That includes a BetMcLean Cup semi-final win against Coleraine last week, to set up a mouth-watering decider against Linfield next month.

For now, their full focus will be on league action and closing the gap on the Bannsiders in the race for automatic European qualification.

Declan Devine's side have quite the fixture pile-up due to a number of postponements in recent weeks, so a big win against the league leaders would certainly boost confidence ahead of a run of at least nine more games in all competitions before the split.

Tuesday's Irish Premiership match between Ballymena United and Crusaders has been postponed following a pitch inspection.

It is the fifth time that a scheduled match at the Ballymena Showgrounds has been postponed this year.

The remaining five matches are set to go ahead as planned with all games available on the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website by using the multi-screen option.

This announcement follows the league fixture against Glenavon at the Showgrounds being postponed on 3 January as well as two attempts to play an Irish Cup fifth round tie against Larne, on 10 and 20 January.

Ballymena United and Portadown's league match also fell victim to the rain meaning only two of the fixtures due to be played at Warden Street have gone ahead in 2026.

Image source, BBC Sport NI

As mentioned, we have a new feature on offer tonight which will allow you to watch all five games on the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website.

There are three different options:

Main stream - Larne v Glentoran will be our main offering with commentary from Thomas Kane & Colin Coates. You can solely watch the action from Inver Park with this option.

Multiscreen 1 - There is also the option of watching coverage of Larne v Glentoran, Coleraine v Portadown and Cliftonville v Bangor simultaneously on this screen as illustrated by the graphic below.

Multi-screen 2 - Alternatively, you can follow coverage of Linfield v Dungannon Swifts with commentary from Joel Taggart & Liam Beckett as well as Carrick Rangers v Glenavon.

You can also keep across our live text commentary offering by scanning the QR code that will appear on the multi-screen options.

Enjoy!

Image source, BBC Sport

Image source, BBC Sport

There is a rare midweek treat for Irish Premiership fans tonight with 10 teams in action.

It was meant to be a full set of fixtures but Ballymena United v Crusaders has fallen victim to the weather and has been called off.

There is a big game at Inver Park as leaders Larne take on Glentoran hoping to extend their lead at the top.

Second place Coleraine host Portadown looking to narrow the gap to the Inver side while Linfield welcome Dungannon Swifts to Windsor Park and Cliftonville entertain Bangor at Solitude.

Completing the offering, in-form Carrick Rangers are at home to Glenavon.

Making the midweek action even sweeter is the fact that while Larne v Glentoran will be the main offering, all the other games can be viewed on the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website using the multi-screen options (more on that to come).

There will also be the usual offering of live text commentary and in-play clips with report, highlights and reaction to follow so you won't miss any of the action.

Image source, Inpho