Preview:Airdrieonians vs Alloa Athletic - prediction, team news, lineups

Airdrieonians and Alloa Athletic will both be eyeing top spot when they lock horns on the final matchday of the Scottish League Cup.

The hosts enter Saturday’s fixture in pole position in Group C, while the visitors are sitting in second place on goal difference.

Match preview

Airdrie are guaranteed to finish in the top two of Group C after winning their opening three matches of the 2025-26 Scottish League Cup.

The Scottish Championship side kicked off their campaign with a 1-0 victory over Dundee, before they eased to a 3-0 win against Bonnyrigg RA on matchday two.

Airdrie maintained their 100% record with a narrow victory over third-tier Montrose, which saw Euan Henderson and Lewis McGrattan grab a goal apiece in Wednesday’s 2-1 away win.

Given their goal difference advantage over Alloa, player-manager Rhys McCabe knows that his team simply have to avoid defeat in Saturday’s home clash to secure automatic qualification to the second round.

The hosts may be able to take confidence from the fact that they have won their last two matches against Alloa, recording a 4-0 home win in January 2023 before picking up a 1-0 away victory in April of the same year.

Alloa are building momentum ahead of their Scottish League One campaign, having recorded three consecutive victories in the Scottish League Cup group stage.

After beating Bonnyrigg via a 1-0 scoreline, Andy Graham’s charges went on to collect a 2-1 victory in their home meeting with Montrose.

They backed up those positive results with a 1-0 victory in their most recent home meeting with Scottish Premiership side Dundee, which came courtesy of a Luke Graham own goal.

Alloa know that they need to pick up a fourth successive win to snatch top spot, although they could still progress as one of the three best second-placed sides if they fail to take three points from Saturday’s contest.

After losing their last four away games against Airdrie, the visitors will head into the weekend with aspirations of clinching their first head-to-head away victory since October 2020.

Airdrieonians Scottish League Cup form:

W W W

Alloa Athletic Scottish League Cup form:

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Team News

Airdrie forward Aaron Reid is making progress in his injury recovery, but it remains to be seen whether he will be able to feature in Saturday's squad.

Dean McMaster is pushing for a starting spot after returning from injury to play over half-an-hour in the midweek win over Montrose.

Henderson and McGrattan will continue to pose a threat in the final third, having scored two goals apiece in the last two matches.

Meanwhile, Alloa summer signing Kalvin Orsi is a doubt after sitting out the recent win over Dundee.

If Orsi is unavailable, Graham could opt for consistency by naming an unchanged lineup for the final group game.

Experienced forward Conor Sammon will provide a useful option off the bench, having featured as a substitute in Alloa's previous three matches.

Airdrieonians possible starting lineup:

Melrose; MacDonald, Ross, McGinty, King; Barjonas, McMaster; McGrattan, Armstrong, Henderson; Mochrie

Alloa Athletic possible starting lineup:

McFarlane; Foster, Devine, Taggart, Waters; Scougall, Roberts, Hetherington; Buchanan, O'Donnell, Ranken

We say: Airdrieonians 2-1 Alloa Athletic

Airdrie only have to avoid defeat to secure top spot, but operating in a league above Alloa, we think that the hosts will have the extra quality required to clinch automatic qualification for the second round via a narrow victory.

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