Cliftonville’s Conor Pepper Offers Premiership Match Predictions

Cliftonville player Conor Pepper has shared his forecasts for upcoming Premiership fixtures. Regarding the Ballymena United versus Carrick Rangers match (Saturday, 15:00 GMT, with coverage on Sportsound), Pepper noted Jim Ervin’s strong start to the season, suggesting Ballymena would be favored for a home victory at the Showgrounds. He acknowledged Carrick’s consistent difficulty for opponents and praised [Stephen] Baxter for stabilizing the team, observing their recent success in securing points in matches they might have previously lost. Despite this, Pepper still anticipated Ballymena securing the win. His prediction for the score was 2-1. For the Crusaders against Dungannon Swifts fixture (Saturday, 15:00 GMT, coverage on Sportsound), Pepper commended Dungannon’s strong performance this year, highlighting their good football and goal-scoring ability, expecting them to perform well. However, he expressed doubt about their chances of securing a victory at Seaview, describing it as a challenging venue to win at and anticipating “a physical one!” He predicted a 2-2 draw. Addressing the Glenavon versus Coleraine game (Saturday, 15:00 GMT, coverage on Sportsound), Pepper stated that Glenavon’s struggle for form is widely known. He expressed interest in seeing if Paddy McLaughlin could implement his playing style effectively, believing that Glenavon would be content as long as they accumulated points. His score prediction was 1-1. Regarding Linfield’s match against Portadown (Saturday, 15:00 GMT, coverage on Sportsound), Pepper noted the difficulty of winning at Windsor and anticipated Portadown would face challenges. He observed that Linfield consistently secures points against teams in the bottom six. He predicted a 3-1 victory. For the Loughgall versus Glentoran encounter (Saturday, 15:00 GMT, coverage on Sportsound), Pepper commented on the difficulties Dean Smith’s team has experienced in their second Premiership season. He expected Glentoran to approach the game with high morale, particularly following their win in the ‘Big Two’ last weekend. His prediction was 0-2. Concerning the Larne versus Cliftonville match (Sunday, 14:00 GMT, live on BBC iPlayer & BBC Sport NI website & app), Pepper, as a Cliftonville player, stated his team was entering the game “feeling good,” being “a couple points off top spot.” He emphasized that “These big games are make or break for any title challenge.” He also mentioned that “A new manager in Nathan Rooney throws in a curveball,” but stressed the need for Cliftonville to “be at our best and perform in front of the BBC cameras!” He provided no score prediction for this match, with the note “N/A (We’ll let him off this one!).” Conor Pepper is scheduled to join Michael McNamee on Sportsound this Saturday from 14:00 GMT, broadcast on BBC Radio Ulster, BBC Sounds, and the BBC Sport website.