Preview: Stirling Albion vs. Forfar Athletic - prediction, team news, lineups

Stirling Albion will be aiming to move top of the Scottish League Two table by claiming a positive result against Forfar Athletic on Tuesday evening.

The hosts trail Dumbarton at the summit by a solitary point, but this upcoming match represents Stirling's game in hand on their title rivals.

Match preview

Indeed, with Annan Athletic and East Fife both 12 points behind Stirling having played three matches more than Darren Young's side, it is safe to say that Stirling are embroiled in a two-horse race to lift Scotland's fourth tier title this season.

With only one automatic promotion spot available to sides in League Two, it is crucial for Stirling to finish above Dumbarton as champions, otherwise they will join the third-placed and fourth-placed sides from their division in an end of season playoff to replace the second-bottom ranked team in League One.

As such, having seen Dumbarton surprisingly thrashed 5-1 at home to Albion Rovers at the weekend, Young would have been frustrated by his side simultaneously dropping two points away to Stranraer Rovers, as victory would have moved them to the top of the table.

However, the Binos will have another chance to do exactly that by avoiding defeat against Forfar on Tuesday, although they will be expecting to claim all three points on home territory at Forthbank Stadium.

Forfar, meanwhile, remain firmly in the hunt to secure one of the three aforementioned playoff spots by the end of the campaign.

Ray McKinnon's side closed the gap on one of their rivals for those positions by beating Annan 2-1 on Saturday, with Ben Armour bagging the winner six minutes before the end of normal time.

As such, with two games in hand on Annan and East Fife in third and fourth respectively, Forfar would move directly in between those two sides on goal difference should they manage to secure a surprise away win against Stirling on Tuesday.

Having failed to beat them in either meeting so far this season, McKinnon will be demanding a much improved performance from his players, otherwise the Loons may miss a clear opportunity to make up further ground on the sides above them.

Team News

Providing that he has no concerns regarding fatigue, Young may choose the same starting lineup that picked up a creditable 1-1 draw away from home last time out.

Central midfielder Jack Leitch will be hoping to produce another excellent individual performance after opening the scoring against Stranraer.

McKinnon, meanwhile, may be pondering whether to hand Armour a start in attack after the forward's goalscoring impact from the bench against Annan on Saturday.

However, with his fellow striker Matthew Aitken also bagging from the penalty spot in his side's 2-1 win, Armour may have to be patient and hope to be called upon to make a difference during the encounter once again.

Stirling Albion possible starting lineup:

Currie; McGheachie, Cummins, McLean, Duffy; Moore, Davidson, Leitch, Denholm; Thomson; Carrick

Forfar Athletic possible starting lineup:

McCallum; Nditi, Stewart-Hutchinson, Munro, Brindley; Slater, Hutton; Flanagan, McCluskey, Ross; Aitken

We say: Stirling Albion 2-1 Forfar Athletic

We expect Stirling to be highly motivated to leapfrog Dumbarton at the top of the Scottish League Two table, and they will take confidence from thrashing Forfar 4-1 earlier in the season. We expect a tighter match this time around, but a home victory is clearly the most likely outcome.

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