Hibernian are set to host Livingston on Saturday as they hope to get back to winning ways, following their disappointing 2-0 defeat against Ross County on Wednesday.

Livingston, on the other hand, are in superb form, having recorded their fourth league win on the bounce last Saturday with a 2-1 victory over Kilmarnock.

Match preview

Hibernian manager Jack Ross pictured in October 2020 © Reuters

Hibernian are currently going through a rough patch, having secured just one win out of their previous four league matches.

As previously mentioned, their most recent result ended in a 2-0 loss against a struggling Ross County side, with Oli Shaw scoring against his old club.

However, their 10 league victories this season mean they currently sit in fourth place in the Scottish Premiership, just two points behind high-flying Aberdeen.

A win this weekend could see them leapfrog Derek McInnes's men into third, with manager Jack Ross keen to get the new year off to a good start.

Rangers defender Filip Helander gets a shot away in the Scottish Premiership clash with Livingston on August 16, 2020 © Reuters

Meanwhile, Livingston will be hoping to continue their excellent form on Saturday, having picked up recent wins against the likes of Hamilton, St Johnstone and Dundee United.

During their most recent victory against Kilmarnock, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas got the first goal for the visitors, before Scott Robinson netted the winner in extra time.

They will also be in high spirits after their 2-0 win against Ross County in the quarter-final of the Scottish League Cup just two weeks ago, with David Martindale's men set to take part in the semi-final in January.

Following their recent victories, Livingston currently sit in sixth position in the table, just one point behind Dundee United as they head into Saturday's fixture.

The last meeting between the two sides took place in August, where Hibernian managed a convincing 4-1 win against their opponents.

Hibernian Scottish Premiership form: LLWDWW
Hibernian form (all competitions): LLWDWW

Livingston Scottish Premiership form: WWWWLD
Livingston form (all competitions): WWWWWW

Team News

Ofir Marciano pictured in September 2020 © Reuters

Ofir Marciano, Kyle Magennis and Jamie Murphy are on the sidelines for the hosts, with all three players currently nursing a hamstring injury.

Stephen Mallan and Sean Mackie are also out, however they are expected to return to action in early January.

As for Livingston, they have just two injury concerns heading into Saturday's clash, with Keaghan Jacobs and Alan Lithgow expected to miss the game.

Robinson is likely to find his way back into the starting XI and start up front for the visitors, having netted the winner in their recent game against Kilmarnock.

Hibernian possible starting lineup:
Barnes; McGinn, Porteous, Hanlon, Doig; Boyle, Hallberg, Newell, Wright; Nisbet, Doidge

Livingston possible starting lineup:
Stryjek; Devlin, Fitzwater, Guthrie, Serrano; Holt, Bartley; Mullin, Sibbald, Pittman; Robinson

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We say: Hibernian 2-1 Livingston

This should be a close encounter between two good sides, with Hibernian currently 12 points ahead of Livingston. Although the hosts have experienced a set of poor results in recent times, they will be desperate to get back to winning ways, therefore we expect them to secure a narrow win on Saturday.

Top betting tip

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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 Hibernian win with a probability of 42.07%. A win for Livingston had a probability of 31.9% and a draw had a probability of 26%.

The most likely scoreline for a Hibernian win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.26%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.81%) and 2-0 (7.31%). The likeliest Livingston win was 0-1 (8.69%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.37%). The actual scoreline of 0-3 was predicted with a 2.1% likelihood.