A trip to the capital awaits for Stirling Albion this weekend as they clash with the Spartans for only the third time in their history – and their first on the road since 2001.
The Binos head to Ainslie Park fresh off a painful defeat last time out against Peterhead where the table-topping Blue Toon pegged the hosts back from two down to consign Stirling to a first defeat in six.
That defeat – coupled with Bonnyrigg Rose’s win at home to Elgin – had cut Albion’s gap in fourth down to just two points.
But the Rose’s deduction of six points from the SPFL this week for a gradient on their New Dundas Park pitch means Stirling hold a four-point gap in fourth over one of the season’s surprise packages, Edinburgh City.
The sides’ first meeting in more than 20 years earlier this season saw Stirling come out on top at Forthbank courtesy of Ross Davidson’s superb free-kick.
Dougie Samuel’s outfit have enjoyed a sticky start to their campaign, which they began well-fancied to contend at the top end but currently sit six points behind the Binos in sixth.
However, there are still significant threats to be managed by Stirling including forwards Cammy Russell and veteran Blair Henderson, both of whom were on target in their 3-0 win at Forfar last time out.
The win broke up a winless run of eight games in all competitions stretching back to their previous encounter with the Loons in Edinburgh on September 14 where they edged out a single-goal victory.
Spartans’ season has been built on a solid defence, with only 13 goals conceded in League Two, behind only the top three in the division – but their tally of 12 in front of goal is worse than only Stranraer, Forfar and Clyde.
There will also be some concerns for Stirling boss Alan Maybury for his squad status ahead of the Pilton dust-up, with Aaron Weir set to be suspended following his red card in the Peterhead match and left-back Callum Crane limping off after an hour.
That will almost certainly mean a re-shuffle in the defensive areas, with a possible return for Hearts youngster Bailey Dall at left-back if Crane isn’t deemed fit to keep his place in the side.
No such concerns exist at the front end of the pitch for Saturday’s visitors, with Stirling having scored in each of their last six games across all competitions and netting more than once in all but one of those games.
A big part of that success has been the switch to Dale Carrick as a lone forward aligned with the Binos’ prowess from set pieces – with another dead-ball goal notched to the tally against Peterhead with Adam Brown’s free kick.