Airdrie vs Stenhousemuir preview - Lovering missing for Airdrie

Experienced Airdrie defender Paul Lovering has been ruled out of the home clash with Stenhousemuir.

Lovering has a hip problem and, subsequently, will join fellow full-back Graeme Goodhall and winger Ally Woodburn - who are suffering from knocks - on the sidelines.

Diamonds manager Jimmy Boyle has challenged his players to grab their third home win of the season and move towards the play-off places.

He said: "This will be a tough game against a side packed with experience, although it is a game we can win. Three points would start moving us in the right direction.

"We have shown that we can play to a really high standard but we have not shown that we can consistently play to a high standard."

Stenhousemuir make the trip missing Kevin McKinlay and Paul McHale for a fourth game in a row.

The Warriors are hoping to close the gap at the top of the Second Division table by picking up three points on their travels and coming off the field to hear top-two Arbroath and Cowdenbeath have drawn in their meeting.

Assistant manager Kevin McGoldrick said: "It would be great to end this run of games tucked in beside the leaders.

"That would provide an excellent platform to build on when we resume playing. We can beat anyone on our day but only if we take our chances.

"We created loads of chances last week against East Fife and missed them all before winning with a wonder goal."