HAVING banked just their second Premiership win since the turn of the year, Cliftonville will head to face Glenavon at Mourneview Park on Saturday (3pm), keen to build on Wednesday's win over Carrick Rangers.
Rory Hale, newcomer Alex Parsons and Stephen McGuinness found the net at Solitude in midweek, which saw The Reds move into sixth place in the standings, level on points with Larne (who have four games in hand) and Portadown, but just one behind Crusaders and third-placed Dungannon Swifts.
This year's race for the title is increasingly looking like a formality, with Linfield enjoying a huge lead at the top, but in terms of European qualification for next season, the race for second is one the chasing pack will have firmly in their sights.
Although league wins haven't been plentiful in 2025, nor have defeats and there are also two Irish Cup wins under the North Belfast men's belts, including a 3-2 extra-time thriller against Glenavon a fortnight ago.
The nature of that game is all Cliftonville boss Jim Magilton needs to know about the task ahead on Saturday and speaking to the club website, he expects another tough encounter despite the hosts sitting in 10th spot.
“It’s a massive game,” he said.
“It’s always a tough place to go, but especially now because they’re so full of confidence. Paddy’s got them playing well in a really attacking brand of football.
“It’s such a relentless and unforgiving League and we’ve got to go again to face a Glenavon side whose quality we saw up close just a couple of weeks ago.
“They were so good in the Irish Cup game and played really well at Solitude. In a 120-minute Irish Cup tie, they pushed us right to the wire and it could have gone either way at times.
“They have massive strengths, but, from our point of view, it’s about trying to identify any weaknesses and doing what we can to expose them.”
The weekend action begins on Friday evening when second-place Glentoran make the trip north to take on Colraine, live on the BBC iPlayer (7.45pm).
On Saturday, Portadown and Larne - level with Cliftonville on 39 points - meet at Shamrock Park in a 5.30pm kick-off, while the other 3pm kick-offs see top play bottom as Linfield welcome Loughgall to Windsor Park, while Crusaders host Ballymena United and Dungannon Swifts will seek to remain third as they welcome Carrick Rangers.
In the Championship, Newington will seek to build on last week's big win away to fellow strugglers Newry City when they host Armagh City at Inver Park (3pm).
