Ogilvie expects his Thistle to hit back as Spartans call

Tonight, Lothian host Spartans, the Central Taxis Premier Division leaders and favourites to retain their title, at Saughton Enclosure (kick-off 7.30pm) with Ogilvie saying: "We will probably never ever defend as badly as we did against Heriot-Watt. It was purely down to slackness and a lack of concentration because going forward we looked like we were going to score in every attack.

"I'm treating the game as just a wee blip and I am confident in the abilities and capabilities of all of our players to show what they really can do against Spartans.

"Spartans are definitely the best team in our league and a class above everybody else but at the end of the day it is 11 v 11 and I'm confident of a wee surprise.

"Spartans have a cup final this coming weekend and their players may have one eye on that. This is a game that all of my players want to play in and they want to show their excellent talents against the best."

Lothian will be without the suspended Omar Ali although Jamie Butler comes back into contention after his ban.

Spartans, meanwhile, remain unbeaten in domestic competitions this season after their 3-1 win against Vale of Leithen on Saturday and joint manager Mike Lawson said: "We knew beforehand that it would be a hard game and it was. We did not help ourselves by giving away an early penalty and although we never really controlled the game I always felt that we had the edge.

"It was a shock that tonight's opponents, Lothian Thistle, were beaten on Saturday because I watched them play Vale two weeks ago and I was impressed by them. The last time that Spartans were beaten away from home was by Lothian at Saughton Enclosure last season so I will be reminding our players of that fact."

Omar Kader is unavailable which could mean a starting berth for Daniel O'Donnell while Donal Henretty is also back after missing out at the weekend.