Preview: Arbroath vs. St Johnstone - prediction, team news, lineups

Scottish Championship side Arbroath welcome Premiership outfit St Johnstone to Gayfield Park for their second round tie in the League Cup on Sunday.

The last time these two sides faced each other competitively was in this round of the competition 12 years ago, with the Saints cruising to a 6-0 victory away from home.

Match preview

For the second successive year, Arbroath have advanced from the League Cup group stages, winning three of their four matches and finishing in second place behind Group B winners Dundee United.

Their only defeat was against the Tangerines, while their three victories came against lower league opposition in the form of Elgin City, East Fife and Kelty Hearts.

Since the group stages came to a conclusion, Dick Campbell's men have claimed just one point from their opening two Championship matches. They lost their opening game 1-0 at home to Inverness Caledonian Thistle, before drawing 2-2 draw away at Ayr, with Mark McKenzie scoring an 87th-minute equaliser for the hosts.

Arbroath have only faced St Johnstone five times this century, losing on each occasion, with their last victory against them back in January 1986, when they won 1-0 at home in a League Two fixture.

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St Johnstone, meanwhile, head into Sunday's game after losing 4-2 against Galatasaray in the second leg of their Europa League third-round qualifier, with the Turkish giants winning 5-3 on aggregate.

Manager Callum Davidson has told his players to 'hold their heads high' after going toe-to-toe with a strong European outfit and the 45-year-old will soon be preparing his team for a playoff clash with LASK Linz for a place in the inaugural Europa Conference League.

St Johnstone are yet to win any of their four competitive matches so far this season. Before losing on Thursday, the Saints drew their opening two league games to Ross County and Motherwell, as well as their first leg with Galatasaray in Istanbul.

Davidson will, however, be confident that his side can get their first win of the new season on Sunday when they face an Arbroath outfit who they beat 4-1 at Gayfield Park in a pre-season friendly in July.

Team News

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While Arbroath right-back Jason Thomson continues to recover from a knee injury, centre-back Chris Hamilton is set to remain in his full-back position.

Veteran striker Bobby Linn is hoping to force his way back into the starting lineup, as is Gavin Swankie, who has featured in all six matches so far this season, but has started only once.

Campbell is, however, expected to stick with forward Jon Nouble, who could be partnered by Luke Donnelly, the club's top goalscorer so far this season with three goals in five appearances.

St Johnstone captain Jason Kerr played the full 90 minutes against Galatasaray despite heading into the game doubtful with an ankle injury, and the defender is set to be in contention to play this weekend.

Davidson may, however, decide to rest the 24-year-old as two games in four days could be too demanding on his ankle problem, so Hayden Muller – who played against Motherwell – could be handed a start in a three man defence.

Rotation is expected on Sunday, with the likes of Shaun Rooney, Reece Devine, Stevie May and Callum Hendry all likely to start at the expense of James Brown, Callum Booth, Chris Kane and Michael O'Halloran.

Arbroath possible starting lineup:
Gaston; Ch. Hamilton, Little, O'Brien, Co. Hamilton; Stewart, Low, Clark, McKenna; Donnelly, Nouble

St Johnstone possible starting lineup:
Clark; Muller, Gordon, McCart; Rooney, Davidson, Craig, Devine; Middleton; Hendry, May

We say: Arbroath 0-3 St Johnstone

Although Davidson may make several changes to his side, he will be hoping they can bounce back from their midweek Europa League exit with a victory in the League Cup.

The Premiership visitors will be strong favourites to win on Sunday and they should have no problems in progressing to the quarter-finals.