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Motherwell travel to Stair Park to take on Stranraer in the Betfred Cup on Saturday, in the first away fixture of the 2018/19 campaign. 

And Stephen Robinson’s side, who started the campaign with a convincing 5-0 win over Edinburgh City, will face tough opposition in the League One side.

Searching for points

The Blues started their 2018/19 campaign off with a scorching start against Queen of the South, scoring twice within 10 minutes to stun Queen of the South on their own patch.

The hosts then turned the game on its head with three goals in four minutes to lead 3-2 at the break, and Stranraer ended the game on the losing end of an eight goal thriller as the Dumfriesshire side ran out 5-3 winners.

With some promising signs in their opening game, Stephen Farrell will be eager to see his side build on their start as the Steelmen arrive for the second game of the group.

Foundations to build on

The 2017/18 league campaign ended with Stranraer narrowly missing out on a Championship play-off spot, and the Stair Park side will be looking to make forward strides in the new campaign.

Last season dealt the Blues a difficult group stage in the League Cup, with Livingston, Partick Thistle, St Mirren and Airdrieonians all grouped with Saturday’s opponents in Group H.

Fresh faces

It’s been a busy transfer window for Stephen Farrell, with at least 10 new faces coming through the door as the club prepare for the 2018/19 campaign.

The manager offloaded experienced players Scott Robertson, Paul Woods and Scott Agnew, all in their 30s, bringing in some younger options.

Luke Donnelly, David Brownlie and Isaac Layne, all in their early 20s, were among the new arrivals as the Blues revamped their side with young, exciting talent.

We’re on our travels for the second game of the 2018/19 campaign as we head to Stranraer in the group stage of the Betfred Cup.

Here’s everything you need to know going into the game.

Ticket prices are the same for all Betfred Cup games

As is the case in our home games, the price to get in at Stair Park on Saturday is £12 for adults and £6 for concessions. You can pay at the gate at the ground.

Don’t overpay on the train

If you are taking the train to Stranraer on Saturday, make sure you don’t pay more than you need to.

If you choose Motherwell as your origin station when purchasing, and Stranraer as your destination, you will be charged £47.50 for an adult return.

Alternatively, you can currently purchase a return ticket online from Motherwell to Glasgow Central, which will cost £4.90, and then separately buy a return from Glasgow Central to Stranraer, which will cost £21.80.

Team news

Cédric Kipré and Peter Hartley are back, having served one-match suspensions against Edinburgh City. Craig Tanner remains out injured long term. Aaron Taylor-Sinclair is the only summer recruit waiting to make his debut

Read lots more about the game

• Manager relishing selection dilemma
• Scene setter: Motherwell travel to Stranraer
• In numbers: Stranraer up next for the Steelmen

Our opening game of the 2018/19 Ladbrokes Premiership season against Hibernian has been put back by 24 hours.

The Steelmen will now travel to Easter Road on Sunday, 5 August. The game will kick off at 3pm.

Hibs are in Europa League action on the Thursday night against Asteras, meaning our game needed to be moved.

In the week Elliott Frear scored the first Motherwell hat-trick since 2016, this week’s quiz will test your knowledge of other Steelmen to net three goals in a match.

Since 1996, can you name every hat-trick scorer in claret and amber?

Stephen Robinson is enjoying having a selection dilemma ahead of the trip to face Stranraer.

Having spent the summer recruiting to give himself more options in the squad, he has a fully fit squad to choose from for the second Betfred Cup match, except for long-term absentee Craig Tanner.

“It’s a fine balancing act between putting out a team to win and getting minutes in players’ legs,” said the manager, who will also welcome back Cédric Kipré and Peter Hartley back from suspension.

“We’ll make changes but, if anything, the team might be stronger than it was on Tuesday night.

“We are expected to win, but by no means is it a given. If you give teams time on the ball, they are capable of hurting you.”

New recruit Conor Sammon has spoken publicly about settling in quickly at Fir Park, something Robinson puts down to the culture at the club.

“I’m proud of the atmosphere we’ve created here,” he added. “It’s a close-knit group. We’ve boys who have kickstarted their careers and got their confidence back. That’s what we do.

“With someone of Conor’s experience coming in, it also adds experience to a young squad.”

Motherwell travel to take on Stranraer in the first away trip of the 2018/19 season on Saturday.

It is the second game of the Betfred Cup group stage for Stephen Robinson’s side, and after a convincing 5-0 victory over Edinburgh City, the Steelmen have the chance to go top of Group G ahead of the visit of current table toppers Queen of the South on Tuesday.

Players vying for places

There were two high profile absentees for the opening fixture against Edinburgh City, but Stephen Robinson is set to be bolstered by the return of Peter Hartley and Cédric Kipré for the trip to Stair Park.

Add to that the fact that Aaron Taylor-Sinclair is still to make his debut, and the likes of Liam Grimshaw, Gaël Bigirimana and youngster David Turnbull haven’t featured competitively yet, and the ‘Well boss has a number of players fighting for a spot in the starting XI.

New season, new skipper

Peter Hartley could be set to make his first appearance of the season, and his first as club captain, having missed out through suspension in the opening game.

The centre back, who scored three goals last season in his first as a ‘Well player, was on the sidelines for seven months with a foot injury, but could be set to make his long awaited return on Saturday.

Stranraer hungry for victory

The hosts started their cup campaign with a thrilling clash against Queen of the South, but were ultimately on the wrong side of the eight-goal encounter as the Doonhamers won 5-3.

With just one game played so far, the League One outfit will be keen to keep their cup hopes alive as the Steelmen arrive for Saturday’s showdown.

Having bagged three goals in their first game, the Blues are just one short of matching their entire haul in last season’s Betfred Cup, when they scored four.

Same stage, same opposition

James Farrell’s Stranraer side are no strangers for ‘Well, who faced the Blues in Group F of this competition in 2016.

On that day, Mark McGhee’s men ran out 3-0 winners at a sunny Stair Park in the final fixture of the group.

The Fir Parkers qualified for the knockout rounds as a result, with goals from Chris Cadden, Marvin Johnson and Scott McDonald securing second spot in the table behind Rangers.

Only Cedric Kipre and Richard Tait clocked up more minutes in claret and amber in the 2017/18 campaign than Charles Dunne.

But as the 25-year-old prepares for his second season at Fir Park, the ever-present defender doesn’t take his playing time for granted.

Liam Donnelly and Aaron Taylor-Sinclair arrived during the summer to bolster Stephen Robinson’s defensive options, but the competition for places has only served as motivation for the London-born Irishman.

“It’s something that we all relish, to be honest,” Dunne said. “As a group you have to expect competition and we’ve all said it countless times but it really is true, it spurs us on to do better.

“Without that, you don’t demand more from yourself as a professional and that’s never a good thing. The manager makes sure that’s the way we operate as a side, and by strengthening in the summer, I think that will improve what was already here too.”

Dunne was part of the record-breaking side who registered 20 clean sheets last season, and with a 5-0 start to the new campaign, Motherwell’s number 18 is eyeing more of the same this term.

“Five goals, a clean sheet and an all round good team performance, you couldn’t have asked for much more than that to start the season,” Dunne beamed.

“But it’s just the start and now we face Stranraer on Saturday and we know that’s going to be a difficult game.

“We won’t even pay attention to the group table at the moment because regardless of their position, we know it’s going to be tough going to Stair Park and going up against a side that put in a strong performance against Queen of the South.”

He added: “We’ll focus on our own game. With the cup games coming so early it’s important to use them to our advantage as much as we can.

“One way of doing that is to get a run of games and minutes under your belt, but hopefully it also can be an opportunity to get some winning momentum for the opening league game.”

After opening the 2018/19 campaign with a resounding 5-0 win over Edinburgh City, Motherwell head to Stranraer for the second match in the Betfred Cup group stage.

Here are some key numbers and statistics you need to know ahead of the opening game.

669

That’s the number of days we waited for another Motherwell player to score a hat-trick, before Elliott Frear bagged three in the first half against Edinburgh City on Tuesday night.

Louis Moult was the last to do it on 17 September, 2016, when he netted four against Hamilton Academical at Fir Park.

921

Extending that theme, ‘Well fans waited 921 days to see the team record a victory again by five clear goals. The last time that happened was at home to Cove Rangers in the Scottish Cup in January 2016.

11

The amount of goals scored by Motherwell in the four games they’ve taken part in so far since reporting back for the 2018/19 campaign. Edinburgh City were the first competitive opponents, but Stephen Robinson’s men also put five past Darlington, and one past Crusaders, while keeping three clean sheets along the way.

Motherwell got their 2018/19 campaign off to the perfect start as they ran out 5-0 winners over Edinburgh City.

Elliott Frear bagged a hat-trick in the first half, while Andy Rose and Richard Tait also netted early on to claim all three points in the Betfred Cup group stage match.

Motherwell got their season off to an emphatic start with a 5-0 win over Edinburgh City.

Hat-trick hero Elliott Frear, Andy Rose and Mark Gillespie, who kept a clean sheet on his debut, spoke after the match.