Seventh-placed Larne meet bottom-club Loughgall on Wednesday evening desperate for a victory that would be their first in six games.
The current Sports Direct Premiership title-holders have had a miserable 2025 thus far and will be looking to put things right against the basement-dwelling Villagers.
Gary Haveron’s Reds may be 26 points better off than their opponents from Co Armagh but like Loughgall, they have only managed to pick up a solitary point in their last five league outings. A statistic that would have been unheard of during the previous two campaigns that saw the Inver Park club lift the Gibson trophy.
Andrew Mitchell’s stoppage time goal at the end of the first half was enough to give Dungannon Swifts victory in east Antrim on Saturday, as Larne’s home form appears to have deserted them.
Once a fortress, home fans have now witnessed five defeats for Haveron’s side on home turf this season as the Reds’ continue their hangover and chaotic fixture congestion brought on by their historic entrance into the group stages of the Europa Conference League group stages earlier in the campaign.
On the positive side of things, victory on Wednesday would lift Larne to fifth place in the standings and within striking distance of the top three, albeit Linfield appear to be home and dry in the title race with a mammoth 19-point lead over second-placed Glentoran.
As for Loughgall, they remain winless in the league in 2025 and must have their bags packed already for the drop down to the Championship. They did manage a point on Saturday against 11th-placed Carrick Rangers in a drab scoreless draw, but Dean Smith has little new ammunition to throw as he desperately seeks a way to safety.
With Larne having failed to keep a clean sheet in nine games, there is always the chance for a Loughgall upset, but the chances appear extremely slim. The Villagers themselves have only managed a single league goal in their last five games and are struggling badly since striker Nathaniel Ferris left for the Glentoran back in January.
The bookmakers heavily back an away win at Lakeview Park and it seems hard to argue against their wisdom on this occasion.