Super single 3

Arbroath vs Cowdenbeath Bts

Head To Head: Both teams have scored in all of the last 4 meetings between the sides and 7 of the last 8. The most recent was a 4-2 Cowdenbeath win in the Scottish Cup last season.

Stats: Arbroath haven't won any of their last 7 competitive outings, losing 5. Both teams have scored in 5 of Cowdenbeath's last 7 matches in this competition.

Reason: Cowdenbeath are already out of the Scottish League Cup having lost all of their opening 3 matches. They fought well in their opening match against top flight Inverness losing only 2-1 but have been outclassed in their two matches since then. They were hammered 6-1 at Dundee United and were then beaten 3-0 at home by Dunfermline at the weekend so they are playing for pride here and looking to restore a bit of confidence ahead of the new league campaign.

Arbroath are in a slightly better state but don’t really have a realistic chance of making the knock-out phase. They took Dundee United to penalties in their opening game but lost the shoot-out meaning they only picked up 1 point and were also beaten 3-0 by Dunfermline in their other fixture. With a trip to Inverness to come this weekend, this game is their best chance of picking up a League Cup win this season.

Although Arbroath have looked better in this competition, Cowdenbeath are on paper the stronger team. They picked up 39 points in League One last season while Arbroath recorded an identical figure in League and Two and finished just one place above the bottom. The clubs will be using this as preparation for League Two when they will face each other 4 times so it will be a better measure of where they are at.

They should both be able to play with a bit of freedom here with no real pressure on the game. Arbroath can just about stay in the competition with a win so they have incentive to come here and target the 3 points which should lead to an open game. Both teams have scored in 4 of Cowdenbeath’s last 6 fixtures and 5 of Arbroath’s last 9 and with little to choose between the sides, a score draw looks a likely outcome here.