Livingston will continue their pursuit of European football when relegation-threatened Ross County visit the Tony Macaroni Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Undeterred by a four-game winless run, Livi remain just three points outside the top four in the Scottish Premiership table, with Ross County sitting third from bottom – 12 points shy of their hosts.
Match preview
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Livingston ended a run of three consecutive league defeats with a 1-1 draw against Dundee United last time out, following losses to Rangers, Aberdeen and Hibernian between late February and early March.
Having taken just one point from a possible 12 since their last victory, the Lions could – and probably should – be in a far worse position, but they remain within touching distance of the European places thanks to a five-game unbeaten run across December and January.
After recording back-to-back draws with St Mirren and Motherwell, Livingston beat Ross County 2-0 before thrashing St Johnstone 4-2, with a goalless draw against Hearts extending their unbeaten streak.
Granted, David Martindale's men have struggled for consistency since then – winning only one of their previous six Premiership matches – but they are still on course to cement a top-six berth before the league splits next month.
Livi won five of their first eight home league games this term but have managed to win just one of their previous seven, so they will be eager to rediscover their early-season form at the Tony Macaroni Arena.
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Meanwhile, Ross County suffered a disappointing 2-0 home defeat to Motherwell last time out, meaning that Malky Mackay's side have lost three of their previous four Premiership matches.
It is also worth pointing out that Ross County have lost eight of their past 13 league encounters, picking up just two wins along the way, and those victories came against the only two clubs below them in the table – Kilmarnock and Dundee United.
When you look at the bigger picture, the Staggies have managed to win six of their 28 Premiership matches this term, recording six draws and 16 defeats in the process.
There is no hiding the fact that Ross County have struggled on their travels throughout the campaign, as they have lost eight of their 13 away league games this season, claiming two wins and three draws to take nine points from a possible 39 on the road.
With their last away victory coming all the way back in November, Mackay's men will struggle to halt a six-game winless run on the road, given that only Kilmarnock have scored fewer away goals than Ross County's seven this term.
Team News
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Livingston defender Ayo Obileye is expected to miss the remainder of the campaign with a knee issue, joining fellow centre-back Tom Parkes on the club's injury list.
As a result, Luiyi de Lucas and Morgan Boyes are likely to line up in Livi's backline for the foreseeable future, with Nicky Devlin and Cristian Montano occupying the full-back roles.
Top scorer Bruce Anderson will continue to lead the line for the hosts, having netted three goals in his last eight league appearances.
Ross County will be without the suspended Jack Baldwin on Saturday after the centre-back picked up a red card last time out, so Keith Watson is expected to come into the starting XI.
The visitors will also be without the injured trio of Jordan Tillson (groin), Ben Paton (knee) and Ben Purrington (ankle) this weekend, although all three players are close to returning to full fitness.
Livingston possible starting lineup:
George; Devlin, De Lucas, Boyes, Montano; Holt, Shinnie; Bradley, Pittman, Nouble; Anderson
Ross County possible starting lineup:
Laidlaw; Watson, Randall, Iacovitti; Edwards, Loturi, Kenneh, Harmon; Dhanda; White, Brophy
We say: Livingston 2-0 Ross County
The visit of struggling Ross County provides Livingston with the ideal opportunity to return to winning ways, so we expect the hosts to get back on track with a comfortable victory on Saturday.
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Top tip
Ben Morris
