Third-tier Alloa Athletic will welcome Scottish Premiership side St Johnstone to Indodrill Stadium for Tuesday's Scottish League Cup contest.
The home side are currently sitting in second place in Group F, while the visitors are one point better off in pole position.
Match preview
Alloa are preparing for a third consecutive season in League One after they experienced disappointment in the 2023-24 playoffs.
They finished in third place to set up a semi-final clash with Hamilton Academical, playing out a 2-2 draw in the first leg before falling to a narrow 3-2 defeat in the away fixture, consigning them to another season in the third tier.
Having put their playoff heartbreak behind them, Alloa will be satisfied with the start that they have made to the 2024-25 campaign, having collected five points from their first two Scottish League Cup matches.
They played out a goalless draw with East Fife and then won the subsequent penalty shootout to claim a crucial bonus point, before they recorded a commanding 3-1 win in Saturday's clash with Highland League side Brechin City.
Andy Graham's side will now look to claim two more positive results in their remaining group games against St Johnstone and Greenock Morton, as they bid to reach the knockout rounds for the first time since the 2020-21 campaign.
St Johnstone will be participating in the Scottish Premiership this season after they avoided a relegation playoff due to their superior goal difference over Ross County.
The Saints will hope to avoid another relegation scrap this season, but their current priority will be on reaching the League Cup knockout rounds for the first time since the 2021-22 campaign.
The 2020-21 League Cup winners began the group phase with a 2-1 away win over Brechin City, before they recorded a 2-0 home victory against Greenock Morton thanks to a Benjamin Mbunga Kimpioka brace.
With two games left to play, St Johnstone are now sitting in top spot with a one-point gap to Alloa and a two and three-point cushion to East Fife and Greenock Morton respectively.
They will certainly fancy their chances of claiming another victory on Tuesday, having won six of their previous seven competitive meetings with Alloa, including a 4-0 win in last season's League Cup group stage.
Team News
Alloa midfielder Miko Virtanen has been ruled out for the group stage after he suffered a broken toe in pre-season.
Shay Nevans and David Devine are both expected to miss a second straight game with injuries that they sustained in the win over East Fife.
With Graham having to cope with those absentees, he could be tempted to select the same side that started Saturday's victory against Brechin.
As for the visitors, they are unable to call upon summer signing Uche Ikpeazu, who is out for around four months after undergoing knee surgery.
Nicky Clark remains a doubt for the midweek fixture, having sat out the first two group games due to a calf issue.
Kimpioka, who joined St Johnstone in January, will continue to lead the line after scoring his fourth and fifth goal for the club in the 2-0 win over Greenock Morton.
Alloa Athletic possible starting lineup:
Morrison; Taggart, Neill, McKay, Waters; Buchanan, Hetherington; Cawley, Roberts, Scougall; Luke
St Johnstone possible starting lineup:
Rae; Keltjens, Cameron, Sanders, Raymond; Wright, Essel, MacPherson, Smith, Carey; Kimpioka
We say: Alloa Athletic 1-2 St Johnstone
St Johnstone claimed a 4-0 victory when the two sides met in last season's group stage, and while we expect Tuesday's contest to produce a tighter scoreline, we still believe that the Scottish Premiership side will do enough to claim all three points.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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