BOXING day is nearly upon us, as the eagerly anticipated derby game between takes place at the Ballycastle Road Showgrounds between Coleraine and Ballymena United.

Historically one of the biggest days in the Irish football calendar as Irish League teams across the province come face to face with their bitter rivals - and arguably one of the fiercest derby games will be between the Braidmen and the Bannsiders.

United have been flying high in recent weeks; Saturday's win against Institute was their seventh victory in eight games as the Sky Blues currently sit only four points off third place going into this fixture.

Coleraine have had a very indifferent season so far, despite lifting the North West Senior Cup, their league form hasn't been impressive as they currently sit in 9th position in the Carnegie Premier League - ten points behind their County Antrim neighbours.

Despite their single goal victory over Armagh City at the weekend, that remains only the second win from their last ten outings. But form seemingly goes out the window when it comes to 'derby' games.

Last year's thrilling Boxing Day clash in front of a packed Warden Street Showgrounds, was testament to that - as Coleraine raced into a two goal lead which stunned the home supporters. The Braidmen clawed two goals back, but straight from the restart of the equaliser - the Bannsiders struck their winner to make it 3-2.

Revenge was Ballymena's in the last fixture between the two sides in April as they claimed a 1-0 victory at Coleraine with Gary Haveron grabbing the winner in an end-of-season fixture last term.

You have to go back four years to Boxing Day 2003 for Ballymena United's last defeat against the old enemy on their own ground. A humbling 4-0 defeat thanks to a Sean Armstrong hat-trick gave the Irish Cup holders a deserved win.

In the last ten seasons, the two sides have met a total of 31 times in all competitions - with Ballymena holding the slight advantage over their North West counterparts, as they have recorded 14 victories to Coleraine's 11 - the other six were draws.

The last win a Ballymena side had on St. Stephen's Day at Coleraine was in 2005 when Vincent Sweeney's header was enough to seal the bragging rights as well as three points for Tommy Wright's side.

Looking ahead to team news, it is unclear how Wright will approach the game with virtually a fully fit panel at his disposal. Aaron Callaghan sat out Saturday's win against Institute as he continues contract negotiations.

Whilst Davitt Walsh made an hour-long comeback for the Reserves at Drumahoe at the weekend, and will be pushing for a recall, despite his uncertain future at the Braid as Bohemians manager Sean Connor was replaced with Pat Fenlon this week.

Coleraine will be without Stuart Clanachan and Jody Tolan will be missing through injury. Whilst Davy Patton is pushing for a recall after missing the weekend's fixtures.

Key Player

Last Boxing Day, Stephen Carson finally showed Ballymena United supporters that he can be a very dangerous player. The former Rangers and Dundee United player from Ballymoney has been a key figure down the wing for Coleraine for the past few seasons and has a habit of scoring spectacular goals from distance.

Ex-Players

For the visitors the only player with previous connections with Ballymena United, is midfielder Noel Anderson who was born in Ballymena and made a handful of appearances as a youngster under Nigel Best. Anderson joined Coleraine last season, after speculation he would return to the Braid – after leaving Lisburn Distillery.

United vice-captain, Gary Haveron was part of the Coleraine side that won the Irish Cup in 2003 and spent nearly three years at the Ballycastle Road, before moving to Ballymena. Mark Picking also spent two years at Coleraine, after joining from Ballyclare Comrades in 1999, he moved onto to Linfield in 2001.

Matchday News

The Seven Towers Supporters Club will be running two buses to the game leaving Henry Street car park in Harryville at 2.00pm sharp; All non-members welcome.

The Paradise Supporters' Club will also be running a bus from their base at the Fountain Bar in town leaving slightly earlier at 1.45pm. Again, all non-members are welcome to travel with them.

There will be no public transport running on Boxing Day, who supporters are advised to plan ahead for their journey and arrive in good time due to the large numbers expected to be attending this game.