Sports Mole previews Friday's Scottish Challenge Cup clash between Airdrieonians and Queen's Park, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Airdrieonians will kickstart their Scottish Challenge Cup venture on Friday as they welcome Queen's Park to the Excelsior Stadium.

Just days before the two teams meet in the league, they will aim to put themselves into the third round of the competition.

Match preview

Due to the fact that Airdrieonians finished in the top four of the Scottish League One last season, they became a seeded team in the tournament this year.

Because of that, they did not have to compete in the first round, unlike their opponents, with this being their first game in the competition for 2021-22.

The two teams are due to meet next week for a league fixture, which makes this an even more intriguing game as they will have the chance to scope each other out ahead of that game.

Airdrieonians narrowly missed out on promotion last season, finishing two points behind Partick Thistle and then losing the playoff game against Championship outfit Morton.

However, the new campaign has not gone to plan so far for Ian Murray's men, who have only managed to win one league game so far.

The Diamonds did manage to end their four-game losing streak in their most recent outing though, picking up a 3-2 victory against Peterhead, with two goals from Rhys McCabe helping to secure that.

Queen's Park have already played Airdrieonians this season, with the teams having met in the group stage of the Scottish League Cup where they played out to a goalless draw as Murray's squad went on to win via penalties.

Despite the defeat in that game, the Spiders have actually had a fantastic start to the season as they currently sit top of League One, having created an undefeated beginning to the campaign.

After dominating League Two last season, losing only two games as they won the division with ease, Queen's Park have continued in that fashion.

Laurie Ellis has guided his squad to three wins and two draws so far, conceding just two goals in the process which has helped to build confidence in the team.

The Spiders have not actually lost a game since they last played Airdrieonians, and even that game ended in a draw after 90 minutes, but considering the Scottish Challenge Cup was cancelled last season due to COVID-19, this year it has extra importance.

Queen's Park have already had to fight to be in this spot, competing in the first round where a Grant Gillespie goal took the game to a penalty shootout, which they won 5-4.

Airdrieonians form (all competitions):

Queen's Park Scottish Challenge Cup form:

Queen's Park form (all competitions):

Team News

After their first win of the season against Peterhead there is a good chance that Murray might not ring too many changes for this cup tie in a bid to try to start building some momentum.

However, due to the fact their match with Alloa Athletic had to be postponed due to a high number of COVID-19 cases within the squad, Murray's hand might be forced into making some alterations.

The cup tie could provide an opportunity for new signing Rhys Caves to shine, with the 17-year-old having recently joined the club on loan from Dundee United.

The Diamonds were also boosted by the return of Salim Kouider-Aissa last time out, as he came back from injury to make an appearance off the bench and he may now be fit enough to start from the first whistle.

Queen's Park will be looking to make as few alterations as possible due to their recent form, but Ellis will be forced into one after Stuart Morrison had to be replaced in the sixth minute against Falkirk due to injury.

However, Lee Kilday was able to return to the back four for the first time since pre-season, which added more quality and experience to the defence.

The Spiders could also look to hand a debut to new signing Luis Longstaff, who joined the club on loan from Liverpool in a deal done on transfer deadline day.

Airdrieonians possible starting lineup:
Currie; Fordyce, Agnew, McDonald; G McGill, McCabe, S McGill, Frizzell, Smith, Kouider-Aissa, Gallagher

Queen's Park possible starting lineup:
Muir; Doyle, Fox, Kilday, Robson; Gillespie, Thomson, Moore, Brown, Longridge; Murray

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We say: Airdrieonians 0-2 Queen's Park

It is hard to know what type of team Airdrieonians will be able to feature in this game due to the impact of COVID-19, plus form is not on their side at the moment.

On the other hand, Queen's Park have made a fantastic start to the season and they should have enough quality and momentum to see them into the third round.

Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Queen's Park win with a probability of 38.05%. A win for Airdrieonians had a probability of 36.72% and a draw had a probability of 25.2%.

The most likely scoreline for a Queen's Park win was 0-1 with a probability of 8.55%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.44%) and 0-2 (6.07%). The likeliest Airdrieonians win was 1-0 (8.37%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.88%).