Champions in town in front of sell-out Showgrounds

Rarely has there been so much anticipation ahead of a midweek fixture.

Current league champions Linfield visit table toppers Coleraine on Tuesday night - and it seems that everyone wants to be there!

All available tickets for the Jack Doherty Stand and the Railway End are reportedly sold, meaning the Showgrounds may boast one of its biggest attendances in recent years.

Of course, a big crowd brings heightened expectation - for both sets of players and management.

Bannsiders boss Ruaidhri Higgins, in his first few months at the helm, has guided the club to the summit of the Premiership but as he is always quick to point it, it's still very early days.

Still, he is bound to be happy with his side's performances to date, just the two losses and one draw against nine wins.

But games against the Blues are a different ball game.

“I still think there's loads of room for improvement but we're very close to getting everyone back and available so I think we've a really strong group,” said the Limavady man in the wake of Saturday's 2-0 win at Portadown.

“It's a really good points return and we've picked up a lot of points on the road. There's something satisfying about not being great but managing to pick up three points, there's something nice about that.

“But Tuesday night is a great game and we’re looking forward to it. All the pressure's on Linfield - every year the pressure's on Linfield to win the league. We're at the start of a journey and we're enjoying it.

“We'll have a go at them, there's no doubt about that, and hopefully we'll come out on the end of a really good game,” he added.

His opposite number, David Healy, knows all about winning titles, and what it takes - like Coleraine away on a wet Tuesday night in October.

"It's another tough ask, a tough game, but one that we'll certainly embrace. We'll try to enjoy it and look forward to the challenge," he told the Linfield website.

“Everybody’s talking about Coleraine this year,” he continued. “The thing about this league is that when a new ‘Larne’ comes on the scene, a lot of neutrals get excited because they may not have been in the mix before or won trophies. It’s good for the league, and we’ve got to embrace that challenge.

“Coleraine have invested well,” he said. “They’ve got a really good squad of players and a manager who I respect and have known for quite a long time. We look forward to it.”

So the stage is set, then, for what promises to be one of the games of the season to date.

Kick-off at the Coleraine Showgrounds is 7.45pm.