Another week means another prediction, and this time we turn our eyes to the premiership in Northern Ireland. Both squads are side by side at 7th and 6th place so it will be a close one. This match will take place on the 27th of January at 15:00 GMT and from here to there a lot can happen. Which is why we will keep our eyes And as always the 1st thing we will do is take a look at each side. This way we know who we are dealing with. So, with no further ado, here we go:
The Teams
Home
Our home team here will be the Coleraine Football Club, occupying the 7th position in the table. Coleraine Football Club, founded in 1927, was formed from a merger between Coleraine Olympic and Coleraine Alexandra. John McCandless was one of the founders and original player/manager. The club’s nickname was “Lilywhites.” In the 1931–32 season, the club won the Gold Cup, defeating Ballymena United 3–0. Coleraine reached its first Irish Cup final in 1948, losing to Linfield 3–0. In the 1950s, the City Cup was won for the first time (1953–54) and a second triumph in the Gold Cup (1958).
In 2010, Coleraine lost on penalties against Glentoran in the Co-Operative Insurance Cup final and Linfield in the semi-finals of the Irish Cup. Despite having the top goalscorers in the league, they finished the season in seventh. In spite of the arrival of English striker Leon Knight, inconsistent form led to the resignation of manager David Platt. Oran Kearney, his replacement, revitalized the struggling team, climbing the table and reaching the final of the IRN-BRU League Cup.
Visitors
On the other side of the field we have Glenavon. They are a provincial club, has a rich history of winning the Irish League title and the league and cup double. The Lurgan Blues’ form improved in the 2020-21 season, but they narrowly missed out on a top-six finish. Their seventh-place finish secured a spot in the Europa Conference League playoffs, but they faced Larne in the semi-final, losing to Martin Donnelly in injury time.
In the 2021-22 season, Glenavon claimed a seventh-place finish and qualification for the Europa Conference League playoffs, but were defeated in the semi-final stage against third-placed Glentoran. The club exited the Irish Cup in controversial fashion, having two goals disallowed against Crusaders. On 13 September 2023, Gary Hamilton vacated the post of manager, and U20s manager Gary McAlister took over as caretaker for matches against Carrick Rangers and Crusaders. Former Warrenpoint Town manager Stephen McDonnell was appointed in the role on a permanent basis on 25 September.
Stats and conclusion
Lets start with the home team. They are at 7th with 29 points in 25 matches played, 8 wins, 5 draws, and 12 losses 32 goals scored and 49 suffered. The visitors are at 6th with 29 points in 25 matches, 9 wins, 2 draws, and 14 losses, and 30 goals scored and 43 suffered.
As you can see both team are side by side when it comes to points, but the visitors have a slight but clear advantage here.
Update
Both teams fell one position since last week, with the home team now at 8th and the visitors at 7th. Both teams are still very closely matched, not only in regards to position but also in their stats. Now, if we take a look at the performance of both sides in the tournament, we can say that the home team is in a string of losses, yet the odds seem to favor them.
Despite their recent losses, the home team has some potential, and while both sides will be missing some key players, we will still have a good and heated match here. Mostly because both sides want to make up for recent losses and prove themselves as the stronger team. In the end, I came to the decision of making an Over under bet. I believe we can even see a 2-2 result here, but I am more confident in a Over 2.75 goals full-time bet. Make sure to create an account at the best betting tool so you can also be a winner with this tip!