Dundee have the chance to escape the relegation zone with a victory on Tuesday night when they travel to face Livingston in a crucial match for the bottom half of the table.
The hosts are only four points clear of the bottom two and a defeat would drag them into the fight to kick-start the second half of the season.
Match preview
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Livingston enjoyed a mixed first half of the season in terms of results, with a lack of consistency being an issue for the Lions, which has kept them in the bottom half of the table.
They have won and drawn five matches while losing 10, which is something David Martindale will be hoping to improve upon during 2022 in order to keep the club away from a relegation battle.
The Lions are only four points away from the bottom two spots right now, which they will be wary of, especially when facing one of the teams in the drop zone on Tuesday.
Livingston ended the season with improved performances, losing only one of their previous four matches, although that defeat was in their most recent outing.
A brace from Kevin van Veen was enough to secure Motherwell the victory, despite a late goal from Bruce Anderson, therefore the focus on Tuesday will be getting back to winning ways.
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Dundee have conceded more goals than any other team in the league this season, which has been one of their main weaknesses, and that is something that the squad will be focused on throughout the second half of the campaign.
One of their best defensive displays of the season took place the last time they faced Livingston, as the two teams battled out to a goalless draw on that occasion.
However, the Dark Blues will be looking for more than just a point this time around, with a victory potentially taking them out of the relegation zone, depending on other results.
Dundee are currently suffering a five-match run without a victory, with their last win taking place on December 1 against St Johnstone when Danny Mullen scored the only goal of the game.
Since that point, the squad have conceded 10 times and taken zero points, but after the winter break, they will be aiming to kick-start 2022 with a bang.
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Team News
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Livingston have brought in Caleb Chukwuemeka during this transfer window on loan from Aston Villa and he will be keen to make an immediate impact with the Lions.
Sean Kelly will continue to play a key role for his team in the defensive midfield role on Tuesday, with this being an important part of Martindale's 3-1-4-2 formation.
Dundee will be missing a trio of players due to long-term injury issues as Shaun Byrne, Cillian Sheridan and Lee Ashcroft are all out of action at the moment.
Leigh Griffiths has recently been released by Celtic, which has sparked question marks over how long he will stay at Dundee, but after scoring in his most recent performance he will likely be pushing to retain his place in the team on Tuesday.
Livingston possible starting lineup:
Stryjek; Longridge, Fitzwater, Obileye; Kelly, Omeonga, Holt, Penrice, Sibbald; Shinnie, Forrest
Dundee possible starting lineup:
Legzdins; Sweeney, Fontaine, Panter; Kerr, McCowan, McGhee, McGowan, Marshall; Jakubiak, Griffiths
We say: Livingston 2-0 Dundee
Both teams will be desperate to start 2022 in the right way as each club aims to push away from the relegation zone early on in the year.
Dundee ended 2021 in poor form, and while they will see this as a winnable game, it could prove to be another tough encounter, especially with their poor defensive form.
Top tip
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 Livingston win with a probability of 42.02%. A win for Dundee had a probability of 29.91% and a draw had a probability of 28.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Livingston win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.73%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.35%) and 2-0 (8.12%). The likeliest Dundee win was 0-1 (10.27%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.1%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with an 8.1% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a 2-0 win for Livingston in this match and our data analysis correctly predicted the win for Livingston.
