Portadown welcome Crusaders at Shamrock Park, Portadown on Saturday, Dec 5 at 4:00 PM in a Premiership fixture that's tighter on paper than the positions suggest — just 2 points split them in the table.

Portadown come into this fixture struggling badly (1W 3L in last 5). Crusaders, meanwhile, arrive in mixed form (2W 0D 3L) — actually the better-performing side in recent weeks. Portadown won their last outing, while Crusaders suffered defeat — home advantage backed by momentum.

In 10 previous meetings, Portadown lead 5–3 with 2 draws. Their last encounter ended in Portadown won 2–3. These two tend to produce goals — averaging 3.2 per game in recent meetings.

Verdict: This looks an evenly matched contest. Home advantage gives Portadown a slight edge, but Crusaders are capable of causing problems. A draw would be a fair result.