Match preview: Ross County look to secure top spot and seal Betfred Cup second round berth with win over Stirling Albion
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Ross County know that their Betfred Cup fate is in their own hands, but will be looking to build on their 4–1 win against Elgin City midweek to claim top spot in Group D.
They did not have things all their own way at Borough Briggs, but still came away with a confidence-boosting result – and now they will want to prove they can deliver that kind of performance every single week.
The Staggies do not have to win to seal a place in the hat for the second round draw, but as strong favourites against a League Two outfit anything other than three more points will be a disappointment.
Stirling Albion meanwhile will come into the match with nothing to lose and in good form, as they have not lost in five and are still unbeaten in the bottom tier.
Team News
Ross County: Carl Tremarco will miss out after tweaking his hamstring early on in the win against Elgin on Tuesday.
Michael Gardyne has not recovered from his ankle knock, but the Staggies are hopeful that he will return for next weekend's trip to Kilmarnock.
County are slowly getting back to full strength, with Keith Watson and Callum Morris returning to training on Thursday, while it was hoped Connor Randall and Ross Draper would join them yesterday – but none of those names are likely to feature against Stirling this afternoon.
Stirling Albion: Jonny Mitchell could be in line to make his debut after signing a short term deal last week, having spent Tuesday's match against Montrose as an unused substitute.
Kevin Rutkiewicz has a full squad to pick from, and after making three changes to his squad midweek while still claiming all three points, he has options at his disposal for the trip to Dingwall.
Recent form
Ross County: won 4–1 away at Elgin City, drew 1–1 at home against Livingston, lost 2–1 away at Dundee United, lost 4–0 away at Motherwell, drew 0–0 at home against Hibernian.
Stirling Albion: won 2–1 at home against Montrose, won 5–0 away at Brechin, won 1–0 at home against Annan Athletic, drew 2–2 away at Stenhousemuir, drew 0–0 at home against Queen's Park.
Head-to-head (all competitions)
Ross County 4
Draws 2
Stirling Albion 3
Last five meetings
Stirling Albion 0–2 Ross County – Division One, Saturday, April 2, 2011
Stirling Albion 0–0 Ross County – Division One, Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Ross County 0–0 Stirling Albion – Division One, Saturday, February 12, 2010
Ross County 3–1 Stirling Albion – Division One, Saturday, September 18, 2010
Ross County 9–0 Stirling Albion – Scottish Cup, Saturday, February 6, 2010
Ones to watch
Ross County: Jermaine Hylton – the former Motherwell man seems to have benefited from the Staggies' squad rotation in the Betfred Cup.
He has only played half an hour in County's last four Premiership matches, but has started all three League Cup games so far.
Stuart Kettlewell alluded to a lack of fitness for Hylton this week, but he needs to take his chance on the pitch however long he is on for to play his way into the first choice side in the league too.
Stirling Albion: Andy Ryan – the 26-year-old forward was an unused substitute against Montrose on Tuesday, but he has been in good form recently.
He scored in each of his last two appearances, against Annan Athletic and Brechin City, so will be high on confidence should he feature at the Global Energy Stadium.
Ross County manager Stuart Kettlewell's pre-match thoughts
"Stirling Albion have started the season well, so we'll go into that game with exactly the same level of respect as we did against Elgin.
"The task for the players is to finish off the job and become the top side in the group.
"There's an added incentive in both cup competitions during this pandemic – to everybody, the opportunity to go further in cup competitions will mean that bit more just because we know how difficult this time is.
"We're all trying to get a lift as players, management, but especially for the supporters – you want the supporters to have something else to look forward to in such a tough period.
"Who knows whether further down the line they will be able to follow the journey, but certainly the message from me to the players is to be competitive in every competition we take part in.
"The Betfred Cup is the one in front of us at the minute, so we have to give it everything we've got and see where it takes us."
