David Healy is bracing himself for a clash with the Irish League’s in-form team as Linfield bid to take another step towards title glory at Seaview on Tuesday night.
While the Blues lie a point clear of Cliftonville at the league summit with three games left, it is Crusaders who are top of the Danske Bank Premiership form table.
Stephen Baxter’s men have taken maximum points from their last five league outings and have also won eight of their last nine games in all competitions.
Read more: Linfield boss David Healy has no issue with player's programme comments on game time
The North Belfast club’s only defeat during an impressive sequence was a last-gasp 3-2 league loss to Linfield at Windsor Park five weeks ago.
“Apart from the likes of ourselves and Cliftonville, Crusaders are probably the in-form team in the division at the moment,” said Healy.
“The one thing you can always expect from Stephen Baxter and his players is a really tough battle and I expect a really tough game there.”
While Linfield are in the midst of a tense run-in, Healy believes the shackles are off Crusaders who are guaranteed a European play-off and also have an Irish Cup final to look forward to.
“It probably helps that they’re going into these games fresh in terms of it probably doesn’t matter as much where they finish,” he said.
“They’re probably going to finish third or fourth so they can maybe mix and match a bit more and freshen up their team with two or three bodies coming in or out.
“It will be tough, but winning league titles is always hard when it comes to the run-in. We’ve got to go and get as many points as we can from our last three games.”
Healy believes his players deserve credit for putting themselves in pole position to win a fourth straight title for the Big Two giants
Linfield have undergone major changes, on and off the pitch, in recent months with the club moving to a full-time model last summer and a subsequent and sizable turnover of players.
No fewer than 11 new faces have arrived at the Windsor Park club, either on loan or on a permanent basis, during the past two transfer windows.
“There have been so many changes and things going on at the football club in terms of personnel and the transition to training mornings,” said Healy.
“It has been a challenge and there have been one or two games where we let ourselves down with our performance, but we have never waved a white flag.
“The players have worked hard, they are committed and we are still in and around where we want to be at this stage of the season.
“What the players have done is put themselves in a position where they have the opportunity to win the title and that’s all we can ask.”
Tuesday night's game between Crusaders and Linfield has a 7.45pm kick-off and will be streamed on the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport NI website.
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