Preview: Forfar Athletic vs Arbroath - prediction, team news, lineups

Fighting for a place in the Scottish League Cup's round of 16, Arbroath will travel to face Forfar Athletic at Alpha Projects Stadium @ Station Park on Saturday.

The Loons will be hoping to avoid a third straight defeat, while the Red Lichties will be aiming to make it back-to-back wins this weekend.

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Match preview

Jim Weir's Forfar have struggled in the cup this season, with the Scottish League Two club losing two and drawing one of their three games so far, though they did win a penalty shootout against Annan Athletic on matchday one.

This past Tuesday, the Loons followed up their 2-1 loss at the hands of St. Mirren with a 3-0 thrashing on the road to leaders Ayr, and the manager will be keen to stamp out the lack of early concentration that saw his team concede three first-half goals.

That defeat left Weir's side fourth in the group with just two points, and they can now no longer reach the top two to progress to the next stage.

One of the biggest reasons for their troubles is the fact that the hosts have been lacklustre on their own turf throughout the year, and after seeing their team take maximum points on only one occasion in 2025, fans would be forgiven for harbouring doubts about this weekend.

Forfar will be hoping to give a good account of themselves to close out their league cup spell, and a first victory in this iteration of the competition would be enough to put them level on points with their opponents.

Meanwhile, David Gold and Colin Hamilton's Arbroath are still in with a chance of making the round of 16, but they will need to win and realistically hope that their rivals drop points.

Earlier this week, the Red Lichties bounced back from a 4-0 hammering by Ayre with a 6-0 triumph of their own against Annan, and the boss will be delighted to have that day's hat-trick hero Arran Pettifer in the squad.

After making the most of the opportunity to add to their tally on Tuesday, Gold and Hamilton's men are now third in the group with five points and have their sights set on second-placed St. Mirren, who are just two points ahead.

However, in order to see their ambitions realised, the visitors will need to defy their home record that features three defeats in a row ahead of this weekend.

Compounding fans' concerns regarding the game is the fact that they have conceded 12 goals across their last three home losses, not to mention that they failed to score in either of their two most recent games at Station Park.

Forfar Athletic Scottish League Cup form:

Arbroath Scottish League Cup form:

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Team News

As they look to end their cup campaign in strong fashion, Forfar should start Scott Shepherd and Nathan Cannon up top, with Ross MacLean and Kieran Inglis providing width.

In the centre of the park, Martin Rennie should be joined by Craig Slater, and the duo will operate in front of centre-backs Jake Dolzanski and Matthew Allan.

As for Arbroath, Arran Pettifer, who netted three times against Annan, will be ready to start as part of a midfield pairing alongside Scott Stewart.

On the flanks, Findlay Marshall and Ryan Dow, who registered three assists on Tuesday, should make the XI, and they will be aiming to use their creative prowess to supply frontmen Harry Cochrane and Gavin Reilly.

Forfar Athletic possible starting lineup:

Stafford; Martin, Dolzanski, Allan, Scott; MacLean, Rennie, Slater, Inglis; Shepherd, Cannon

Arbroath possible starting lineup:

Pettigrew; Kenny, O'Brien, Wilkie, Steele; Dow, Stewart, Pettifer, Marshall; Cochrane, Reilly

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We say: Forfar Athletic 1-2 Arbroath

 

Forfar may find it tough to be as motivated as Arbroath, who are still fighting to make the next stage this weekend.

Additionally, the hosts have struggled at home in 2025, winning just once, and the visitors could take advantage on Saturday.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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