Glenavon manager Stephen McDonnell says their 2-0 victory against Coleraine earlier in the season is the "perfect case study" for how his side can beat Crusaders on Saturday.

Crusaders are unbeaten in their opening four games whilst Glenavon have managed just one win in six games this campaign, which came at the Showgrounds.

"[The Coleraine win] is the perfect case study that we’ll want to replicate to the best of our ability," he said.

"We will take confidence from the away performance in Coleraine, we know we can beat teams of good quality, so we’ll go there [Seaview] to win."

Despite their mixed start to the season, McDonnell is confident that getting some players back from injury and points on the board can help turn the tide.

He confirmed that Keith Ward and Jack Malone will return for the trip to north Belfast, but that Niall Quinn, Rhys Marshall, Mark Haughey and Jamie Dornan are still missing.

"We have had a very disorganised fortnight with injuries but the middle group in the table, one or two points separates five teams so there is a lot to still be optimistic about," McDonnell explained.

"If you get three points on Saturday the whole complexion changes so we’ll go there with confidence that we can develop a game plan to get maximum points."