City take on Premiership side Ross County at Glebe Park this evening in the second group stage match of the Betfred Cup.

TEAM NEWS
City's selection problems have eased slightly ahead of the match with the experienced Dougie Hill returning from suspension whilst on-loan striker Olly Hamilton is fit to play after missing out through injury against Forfar on Saturday. International clearance has now come through for Christopher McLaughlin and Luke Watt who will be now be available for selection. Striker Ross Crawford continues to miss out however is likely to return for the match against St Johnstone.

MANAGERS COMMENTS
Manager Barry Smith said, "I'd have obviously preferred not to be playing on Saturday but given the situation we were in it was a necessity. We were waiting on international clearance for two players, one was suspended, the two on the bench weren't fit and one was on holiday. When you take all that into consideration it was six players out from what is a small squad anyway.

"We will have Dougie (Hill) back tonight and Olly (Hamilton) is back fit so thankfully I won't have to play. With regards to international clearance we are further down the line so we are still hopeful, but our fate lies in the hands of other FA's. (Update - International clearance has now come through for both Watt and McLaughlin)

"Ross County had a great result against Montrose at the weekend so they'll be playing with confidence. We've just got to give it our best shot and get what we can out of the game. I thought the attitude and mentality of the players on Saturday was excellent and we need to continue in that vein."

Impressed with the performance of the younger players on Saturday, Barry also praised veteran striker Paul McManus who led the line upfront. He said, "All the players have worked hard in pre-season but Paul has gone above and beyond. He has come into the group and used his experience to help the younger ones and he'll be a great asset for us throughout the season."

MATCH OFFICIALS
The match referee tomorrow is the experienced Alan Newlands, assisted by Graham Chambers and Steven Traynor. The last City game Newlands took charge of was a 1-0 defeat against Airdrieonians at Glebe Park last season where he issued 6 yellow cards, 5 of which to the home side.

ADMISSION INFORMATION
Kick off is 7:45pm. A flat rate pricing structure was agreed between all Group B sides. Admission prices are as follows:

- Adults £12
- Concessions £6
- Season tickets are NOT valid for this fixture.

The City Club bar, situated within the David H Will Stand will be open to both sets of supporters from 6:45pm and again following the match.

SEASON TICKET SALES
Season tickets for the 2019/20 season will be on sale prior to the game in the Platinum Lounge from 6:30pm until 7:30pm.

For full pricing information and ways to pay - click HERE

PREVIOUS MEETING
This will be the first competitive meeting between the sides for over 11 years, having last played in a 2nd Division fixture at Glebe Park on 26th April 2008.

City, under the guidance of Michael O'Neill, needed a win to keep their faint playoff hopes alive against the already crowned Champions.

It all looked so promising for City who were 3-1 up on the hour mark thanks to goals from Darren Smith, Neil Janczyk and Willie Dyer. However, late goals from Andrew Barrowman and David Winters salvaged a point for the Staggies in an entertaining 3-3 draw.