Ross County are set to host Hibernian on Saturday as Stuart Kettlewell hopes to secure another home win, following their 2-1 victory against Arbroath in the Betfred Cup on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Hibernian will be confident of continuing their impressive run in the league, with Jack Ross's side currently sitting third behind Rangers and Celtic.
Match preview
© Reuters
After a rather shaky display in the Betfred Cup, with the Staggies only managing to secure narrow wins against both Montrose and Arbroath, Kettlewell will be happy to focus his attention back on the league this weekend.
However, County have not fared well in the Premiership in recent times - picking up two defeats in their previous two games, including a 2-0 loss against Rangers.
During their visit to Ibrox, Coll Donaldson gave away a penalty in the first half, before Brandon Barker scored a late winner to secure the win for Steven Gerrard's team.
As County have only gained three wins this season, they currently sit eighth in the table - five places below their next opponents.
Hibernian, on the other hand, have secured six league wins out of a possible 10, with the Edinburgh outfit currently sitting just five points below Celtic.
Despite missing a set of players, due to both international duty and injuries, Hibs also managed a perfect run in the Betfred Cup recently - putting them at the top of group B.
However, it was not without difficulty as a late goal by David Gray proved to be the only difference between the two sides in their latest 1-0 win over Forfar, with the League One outfit almost causing a scare for the visitors.
Their most recent league game ended in a 3-2 win against Hamilton Academical, with current top scorer Kevin Nisbet and Paul Hanlon finding the back of the net.
In terms of their head to head record, Hibernian have won eight times in the past decade, while County have conjured up six victories. There have also been four draws between the two sides.
The teams last met during a league clash in February, where Hibs managed a convincing 3-0 win against the Staggies.
Ross County Scottish Premiership form: LLWLL
Ross County form (all competitions): WLLWW
Hibernian Scottish Premiership form: LWDLW
Hibernian form (all competitions): LWWWW
Team News
© Reuters
Josh Reid is set to miss the upcoming game against Hibs, with the 18-year-old currently undertaking a precautionary two-week isolation period after the Under-19 head coach Billy Stark tested positive for coronavirus.
Meanwhile, captain Iain Vigurs is expected to return to the starting XI after serving his suspension, following a red card in the match against Aberdeen last month.
Ross Stewart is also likely to start, with the 24-year-old scoring twice in their latest win over Arbroath.
However, Hibs are currently struggling with a list of injury concerns as they head into Saturday's fixture.
Despite the likes of Alex Gogic, Ofir Marciano, Ryan Porteous and Paul McGinn all returning from international duty, Ross is still without Lewis Stevenson and Drey Wright.
Joe Newell and Jamie Murphy have also been suffering with injuries in recent times, but Ross is hopeful that both should return for the game against the Staggies.
Scott Allan remains on the sidelines due to a health issue, while 18-year-old Josh Doig has been forced to self isolate after representing Scotland's Under-19s.
Ross County possible starting lineup:
Laidlaw; Randall, Donaldson, Iacovitti, Tremarco; Draper, Vigurs; Gardyne, Paton, Stewart; McKay
Hibernian possible starting lineup:
Marciano; McGinn, Porteous, Hanlon, Mackie; Boyle, Gogic, Newell, Murphy; Nisbet, Doidge
We say: Ross County 1-2 Hibernian
Despite Hibernian's injury troubles, we still expect the Edinburgh side to claim a win over the struggling Staggies. However, as Hibs have been poor defensively and County have recently found their goalscoring form in the Betfred Cup, this could be a close encounter between the two teams.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Over 1.5:dataData 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 Hibernian win with a probability of 52.45%. A draw had a probability of 26% and a win for Ross County had a probability of 21.53%.
The most likely scoreline for a Hibernian win was 0-1 with a probability of 14.03%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (10.6%) and 1-2 (9.18%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.14%), while for a Ross County win it was 1-0 (8.03%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 9.3% likelihood.
