Ross County will host Dundee United in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday hoping to secure successive league victories for the first time since August and move out of the bottom two.
Meanwhile, the Tangerines have gone 10 league games without an away win, last claiming three points on the road in August against this weekend's opponents.
Match preview
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Ross County secured three precious points on Wednesday night as they came from behind to win 2-1 away at relegation rivals Hamilton Academical.
The hosts were leading with 10 minutes left to play, but two goals in five minutes from debutant Jordan White and then Billy Mckay turned the game on its head, giving the Staggies all three points away from home for the first time since December.
Despite claiming two league wins in their last four matches, John Hughes's men remain in 11th place, four points above Hamilton at the foot of the table, but there are now just six points separating them from the top six.
Ross County continue to struggle defensively, shipping 25 goals on home soil this campaign, more than any other side in the division, and they have conceded at least once in each of their last seven Scottish Premiership matches at Victoria Park.
With their next three fixtures after this weekend against teams currently in the top six, securing a win against an out-of-form Dundee United side would provide a massive boost in their bid to avoid the drop.
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Dundee United suffered their third successive league defeat on Wednesday night as they lost 2-1 away to Motherwell.
Defender Ryan Edwards pulled one back for the Tangerines to give them hope of a comeback, but the early strikes from Devante Cole and Chris Long proved to be enough to clinch all three points for the hosts.
A disappointing run of eight games without a win now sees Micky Mellon's side just five points above the bottom two, with three teams below them having at least one game in hand.
Dundee United will hope that their impressive record against the Staggies can continue this weekend; the Tangerines have been victorious in four of their previous five meetings with Ross County, winning both of their last two encounters by a 2-1 scoreline earlier this season.
Another defeat for the visitors would see them dragged into an unwanted relegation battle but claiming a victory for the first time since November would move them eight points clear of the drop zone and up one place to sixth in the table.
Ross County Scottish Premiership form: DLWLLW
Dundee United Scottish Premiership form: DDDLLL
Team News
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Ross County will be without injured defenders Tom Grivosti (hamstring) and Connor Randall (back), but both players could be back later this month.
Midfielder Iain Vigurs, who was forced off with an injury against Hamilton, is a doubt for this weekend's match, which could see White replace him in the side and join Oli Shaw in attack.
Dundee United midfielder Logan Chalmers is nearing a return from an ankle injury but is not expected to feature this week, while defender Declan Glass is likely to be out for the rest of the season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.
Centre-backs Mark Connolly and Mark Reynolds will both be hoping to earn their places back in the starting lineup ahead of midfielder Callum Butcher, who played in defence alongside Edwards against Motherwell.
Ross County possible starting lineup:
Laidlaw; Morris, Hjelde, Iacovitti; Naismith, Kelly, Paton, Andreu, Hylton; Shaw, White
Dundee United possible starting lineup:
Siegrist; Smith, Butcher, Reynolds, Robson, Sporle; Harkes, Fuchs; McNulty, Clark, Shankland
We say: Ross County 2-1 Dundee United
Both Ross County and Dundee United have looked defensively vulnerable throughout this campaign, which could mean we see a few goals scored this weekend. With spirits high after their midweek win over Hamilton, the Staggies will fancy their chances against an out-of-sorts Dundee United side, and we feel that they could snatch another victory on Saturday.
Top betting tip
Oliver Thomas
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 Dundee United win with a probability of 42.07%. A win for Ross County had a probability of 30.57% and a draw had a probability of 27.4%.
The most likely scoreline for a Dundee United win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.9%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.55%) and 0-2 (7.88%). The likeliest Ross County win was 1-0 (9.76%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.91%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 7.9% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Dundee United would win this match.
