Airdrieonians v Forfar Athletic – match preview

Ladbrokes League 1

Venue – Penny Cars Stadium

Date – Saturday 4^th January – kick-off 3 p.m.

Admission Prices – Adults £17   Concessions  £10   Under 16’s £7  Parent/Child £20

League Position; - Airdrieonians – 2^nd – 33 points from 19 games   Forfar Athletic – 9^th – 18 points from 19 games

Previous results this season; –

Airdrieonians 0 Forfar Athletic 2 at Penny Cars Stadium on 3.8.19

Forfar Athletic 1 Airdrieonians 4 at Station Park on 26.10.19

Summary –  The ‘Loons’ head into the month of January when they are currently scheduled to play the top three teams in the Ladbrokes League 1 table, a daunting task indeed.

A trip to Airdrie is first up on Saturday first, Ian Murray’s side sitting tucked in behind leaders Raith Rovers at present.   However, the ‘Diamonds’ form in December was similar in nature to their opponents.  Like the Athies, their report card read one win, one draw and two defeats.

That draw came last Saturday in a hard-fought contest with Falkirk which ended 1-1.

Forfar head west with a couple of injury worries which were assessed at Thursday morning’s training session.

Michael Travis is a major doubt after breaking down in training earlier in the week, while Dale Hilson is trying to shake off a foot injury picked up in last Saturday’s local derby defeat.

Matthew Aitken’s loan spell at Elgin is over so he returns to the squad this weekend, while Jordan Kirkpatrick is back to full fitness.

Now that the registration window has re-opened, Stuart Malcolm is looking to add to his squad numbers over the next week or so but any movement is unlikely before the weekend.

A dramatic late slump in October saw the ‘Loons’ lose four goals in the last twenty minutes of the contest with Airdrie at Station Park, this after Forfar had picked up maximum points in North Lanarkshire on the opening day of the campaign.

Hopefully, there will be a similarly positive outcome this time around, but all know it will be no easy task.

Match Officials – Referee – Craig Napier    Assistants – Stuart Stevenson & Ross Clark

Saturday Ladbrokes League 1 Fixtures – Clyde v Stranraer, Falkirk v Dumbarton, Montrose v East Fife, Raith Rovers v Peterhead

Supporters information – the Supporters Bar at the Penny Cars Stadium is open from 1 p.m.   All supporters welcome.