BetMcLean Cup: What’s at stake for last four in this year’s competition?

With hopes of retaining their Irish Premiership title having receded in recent weeks, cup competitions appear to offer Linfield their best chance of picking up silverware this season.

The Blues have won the competition a record 12 times and secured back-to-back BetMcLean Cup triumphs in 2023 and 2024.

Healy’s charges are unbeaten in their past five outings in all competitions and avenged a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Ballymena in a league game at the Showgrounds in September by defeating the Braidmen 2-1 at Windsor Park in their second top-flight meeting of the season in October.

“We always have a ding-dong battle with Ballymena and we look forward to the challenge,” the Linfield manager told BBC Sport NI after his side’s win over Crusaders on Saturday.

“It [reaching a BetMcLean Cup final] is huge for everybody, I make no secret of it. We won it two years on the bounce and the finals were brilliant occasions.”

Postponements because of adverse weather have meant that Ballymena have played just two games during the month of January to date so it remains to be seen whether that is to their benefit or detriment for this match-up with Linfield.

The competition offers Oran Kearney an opportunity to pick up his first trophy as United manger, having previously guided Coleraine to success over Crusaders in the 2020 decider, backing up his 2018 Irish Cup win as Bannsiders boss.

The Sky Blues’ league campaign has proved a disappointing one so far so fans of the Showgrounds club will hope that a potential upset in this tie could prove to be a springboard for a strong finish to the season.

Nine years have elapsed since Ballymena last lifted the BetMcLean Cup by beating Carrick Rangers at Seaview.

They were losing League Cup finalists in 2015, 2018 and 2019 and also came out second best in Irish Cup deciders in 2020, 2022 and 2023 and the 2018 and 2020 County Antrim Shield finals.