| POS | TEAM | P | GD | PTS | FORM |
| 1. | LINFIELD | 13 | +21 | 31 | WLWWW |
| 2. | LARNE | 12 | +12 | 27 | WWWLD |
| 3. | CRUSADERS | 13 | +15 | 26 | WWWDD |
| 4. | BALLYMENA UNITED | 12 | +6 | 20 | WDWDW |
| 5. | COLERAINE | 12 | +4 | 19 | LWWWW |
| 6. | CLIFTONVILLE | 13 | +2 | 17 | LDLWD |
| 7. | GLENTORAN | 11 | +7 | 14 | LWDDW |
| 8. | GLENAVON | 11 | -1 | 13 | WLDWL |
| 9. | WARRENPOINT TOWN | 13 | -13 | 12 | LDLLL |
| 10. | PORTADOWN | 10 | -13 | 8 | LDWLL |
| 11. | DUNGANNON SWIFTS | 13 | -22 | 8 | LLLLL |
| 12. | CARRICK RANGERS | 9 | -18 | 4 | WLLLL |
There is a familiar look to the top of the Northern Ireland Danske Bank Premiership with 2017, 2019 and 2020 campions Linfield currently top by four points. The Blue, managed by David Healy, were declared champions on a PPG basis last season which was their 54th league title which means they equal the record of league titles won by club which they now jointly hold with Rangers - Although you could argue Rangers total is 53 and 1/2 as in the first Scottish League in 1891 they finished with the same amount of points as Dumbarton and as goal difference was not used then (Dumbarton had a better record of +40 compared to Rangers +33) a play off was held and it was drawn 2-2 so the league title was shared.
Larne, currently in second, are having their best season for many a year. They were members of the top tier in 2008 but failed to gain a licence to play in the newly formed IFA Premiership for the 2008/09 season. They spent a decade in the second tier until 2018/19 when they won the title by 17 points from Carrick Rangers.
Manager Tiernan Lynch has been in place since September 2017 and their rise up to be challenging for the title has been funded by investment from Kenny Bruce who was born in the town and supported the club from a young age. He established on-line estate agent Purple Bricks in 2012 and his money has helped build a new state of the art artificial surface at Inver Park together with new floodlights and ground improvements.
At the bottom of the table Carrick Rangers are having a season to forget with just one win (4-1 v Portadown) in their nine games played so far.
The BBC are live streaming a number of games this season via the I player and some on Live on BBC NI which is great to see. This is as well as their excellent round up show which is also on the I-Player. The games live over the next month are -
Tuesday 26th Jan - Cliftonville v Linfield
Friday 29th Jan - Larne v Glentoran
Saturday 30th Jan - Carrick Rangers v Ballymena United
Tuesday 2th February – Glenavon v Larne
Saturday 6th February – Crusaders v Linfield
Saturday 13th February – Larne v Dungannon Swifts
Tuesday 16th February – Portadown v Glentoran
Friday 19th February – Ballymena United v Crusaders
Saturday 20th February – Linfield v Coleraine
Tuesday 23rd February – Portadown v Larne
Friday 26th February - Linfield v Larne
Saturday 27th February – Dungannon Swifts v Glentoran
Tuesday 2nd March – Glentoran v Linfield
I wrote this article in March with some more information on the teams here
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