Preview: Stenhousemuir vs Motherwell - prediction, team news, lineups

Meeting in the second round of the Scottish League Cup, Stenhousemuir welcome Motherwell to Ochilview Park on Sunday afternoon.

The hosts progressed to the knockout stage after topping their group with four wins from four, while Motherwell's fourth-placed finish in the Scottish Premiership last season means this will be their first game in the competition.

Match preview

After 13 seasons away from the second tier of Scottish football, Stenhousemuir finally secured promotion during just their second campaign back in League One.

Led by Gary Naysmith, who has since departed for Ayr United, the Warriors finished second after collecting 67 points from 18 wins, 13 draws and five defeats before entering the playoffs.

Stenhousemuir overcame Queen of the South on penalties before defeating Alloa Athletic over two legs to secure promotion to the Championship for the first time in the club's history, despite losing the second leg 1-0.

Unusually, they entered the new season without the manager who had guided them to promotion and began their search for a replacement during the summer, eventually appointing former Livingston boss Marvin Bartley at the start of June.

Bartley has made an unbeaten start to life at Ochilview Park, with Stenhousemuir now seven games into the new campaign and having recorded three wins and three draws across their Scottish League Cup and Scottish Championship fixtures.

Two of those three draws were decided by penalty shootouts, with the Warriors coming out on top on both occasions.

As for Motherwell, they also arrive in Falkirk with an unbeaten start to the season under a new manager.

Alfred Johansson was appointed as the new Steelmen boss after Jens Berthel Askou left Fir Park following just one season to take charge of French side Toulouse.

During his only campaign at Motherwell, Askou guided the Scottish side to a fourth-placed finish in the Scottish Premiership and European qualification.

Johansson has already overseen several matches in the Conference League and made an impressive start, with Motherwell beating HB Torshavn 5-0 on aggregate before overcoming HJK 2-0 across two legs to set up a Conference League playoff tie with German side Freiburg.

Domestically, Motherwell have also started brightly in the Scottish Premiership, beating Hibernian 2-1 thanks to an 85th-minute winner from Ibrahim Said before playing out a goalless draw with Falkirk.

Stenhousemuir Scottish League Cup form:

Stenhousemuir form (all competitions):

Motherwell form (all competitions):

Team News

Following Bartley's unbeaten start, he may be tempted to stick with a similar side and has the luxury of doing so after his squad came through their latest outing without any fresh injury concerns.

One change could come in midfield, with Gus Stevenson potentially rewarded with a starting place after making an impact from the bench with a goal last time out.

As for the visitors, this is their first League Cup game of the season and, with a major European tie on the horizon, Johansson may opt to rotate his squad on Sunday afternoon.

The Motherwell boss also has several injuries to contend with, with Jordan McGhee, Paul McGinn, Callum Hendry and Apostolos Stamatelopulos all unavailable.

Following their goalless draw with Falkirk in matchweek two of the Scottish Premiership, defenders Tom Sparrow and Martin Moorman also picked up injuries.

Both missed the second leg of the third-round qualifier and are unlikely to feature this weekend.

Stenhousemuir possible starting lineup:

Jamison; Meechan, Young, Bright, MacIntyre; Robson, Anderson; Penman, Hodgkiss, O'Donnell; Carrick

Motherwell possible starting lineup:

Paulsen; Koutroumbis, Knight-Lebel, Girdwood-Reich, Longelo; Whyte, Priestman; Vogt, Booth, Said; Maswanhise

We say: Stenhousemuir 1-2 Motherwell

One of these sides will see their unbeaten start to the season come to an end this weekend.

Stenhousemuir have made an impressive start under Bartley and should provide Motherwell with a stern test, but the visitors' status as a division above could prove decisive.

With greater quality and experience at their disposal, we expect Motherwell to edge a cagey affair and secure their place in the next round of the Scottish League Cup.

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