Raith Rovers and Queen of the South will travel to the Excelsior Stadium this Sunday to compete in the Scottish Challenge Cup final, with each club hoping to secure some silverware.
The Doonhamers head into the game out of form with four consecutive defeats, which includes a loss against their opponents this weekend.
Match preview
Raith Rovers head into this game on the back of consecutive matches without a victory, which is not the ideal form for the squad heading into this match.
John McGlynn's team have struggled defensively in those games, conceding three goals in each of them, which is something that they will be looking to seal up this Sunday.
However, they will take confidence from the fact that they recently defeated Queen of the South, with Matej Poplatnik scoring the only goal of that game.
Raith Rovers are thriving in the Scottish Championship, as they sit just outside of the top four, but they will also be hoping to add a trophy to that.
McGlynn's squad had to fight from behind in the semi-finals in order to reach this point with an 87th-minute own goal from Calum Waters helping them defeat Kilmarnock 2-1.
Queen of the South did the opposite of their opponents in the previous round, as Aidan Fitzpatrick scored in the second minute of the game, with that proving to be enough to get them the win.
However, since that victory the team has suffered five defeats in a row, and with only one goal scored in that period, there is some cause for concern heading into this one.
The Scottish Challenge Cup has been a welcome distraction from league football so far though, considering the fact they are currently bottom of the table.
It has been a difficult season for the club, having only won six of their 31 matches in the Scottish Championship so far, but they are continuing to fight against the threat of relegation.
Picking up a trophy could provide the exact confidence boost that Willie Gibson's men need for the final run-in this season.
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Team News
Jamie MacDonald suffered an injury recently, and since that point, he has not been back in the starting lineup which means that Robbie Thomson could continue to play in goal.
The squad will be boosted by the returns of Frankie Musonda and Ben Williamson after both players were away from the club during the international break.
Since Raith Rovers last competed in this competition James Keatings has also taken the decision to retire from the game due to injuries.
Queen of the South have a lengthy list of injuries heading into this one with Sam Folarin, Udoka Chima, Paul McKay and Fitzpatrick all unavailable for the cup final.
However, they will be boosted by the return of Calvin McGrory, as he was back in training this week and is now available for selection.
Raith Rovers possible starting lineup:
Thomson; Tumilty, McKay, Mackie, Dick; Varian, Matthews, Stanton, Connolly; Poplatnik, Gullan
Queen of the South possible starting lineup:
Rae; O'Connor, East, Cooper; Todd, Gibson, Cochrane, McKechnie, Connelly; Roy, Cameron
We say: Raith Rovers 2-0 Queen of the South
A cup final is a true one-of-a-kind event that can lead to surprises, which is what makes them so intriguing to watch, but Raith Rovers are the strong favourites for this one.
They have been consistently stronger throughout the season, while Queen of the South do not head into this match in good form, which could make it a tough challenge for them.
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 Raith Rovers win with a probability of 65.65%. A draw had a probability of 20.3% and a win for Queen of the South had a probability of 14.07%.
The most likely scoreline for a Raith Rovers win was 2-0 with a probability of 12.03%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (11.9%) and 2-1 (9.75%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.64%), while for a Queen of the South win it was 0-1 (4.77%). The actual scoreline of 3-1 was predicted with a 6.6% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Raith Rovers would win this match.
