Two teams with contrasting form meet on Saturday as Kilmarnock host Livingston in the Scottish Premiership.
Killie's loss to Dundee United in midweek extended their losing streak to four matches, while Wednesday's win at Hamilton was the Lions' third league win on the bounce.
Match preview
© Reuters
Despite a strong start to their 2020-21 campaign, Kilmarnock have struggled in December which has seen them drop to ninth in the league table.
Alex Dyer's side, who have picked up just three points from the last 18 available, have lost their last four matches without scoring a goal and conceding seven times.
Wednesday's defeat was Kilmarnock's seventh on the road in the league this season – only bottom side Ross County have lost as many times as Killie away from home. Dyer will be pleased that Saturday's fixture is back at Rugby Park, where he hopes his side can turn their fortunes around.
Kilmarnock have won each of their last five home games against Livingston in the top tier of Scottish football, a run which began in May 2005.
Having won four consecutive top-flight Boxing Day matches from 2012 to 2018, Kilmarnock lost 1-0 to Rangers in their last Boxing Day fixture last season. However, Killie could extend their run of three successive home victories on this date with a win against Livingston this weekend.
© Reuters
Livingston secured their fifth successive win in all competitions under new manager David Martindale with a 2-0 triumph at Hamilton in midweek.
Second-half strikes from Jon Guthrie and Josh Mullin sealed a comfortable victory for the Lions and moved them eight points clear of Ross County at the foot of the table.
Livingston head into their clash with Kilmarnock, having alternated between defeat and victory in the last five league meetings between them, losing 3-1 last time out in October.
The last top-flight victory on Boxing Day for the Lions was back in 2002, and if they can secure three points on Saturday, they could move up to fifth in the Scottish Premiership.
Kilmarnock Scottish Premiership form: LWLLLL
Kilmarnock form (all competitions): WWLLLL
Livingston Scottish Premiership form: LDLWWW
Livingston form (all competitions): LWWWWW
Team News
© Reuters
Kilmarnock boss Alex Dyer has a fully fit squad to choose from, and he may decide to make a few changes to a side struggling for form.
Striker Eamonn Brophy, who has scored just twice in 15 league appearances this campaign, could be replaced in the starting XI by Nicke Kabamba, who began the last match against Dundee United on the bench.
Winger Keaghan Jacobs remains Livingston's only absentee, with the 31-year-old ruled out until the new year with a foot injury.
David Martindale is unlikely to make many changes to the starting lineup after the Lions's recent good form and could name the same starting lineup that faced Hamilton.
Kilmarnock possible starting lineup:
Rogers; McGowan, Broadfoot, Findlay, Waters; Power, Mulumbu, Tshibola; Burke, Kabamba, Kiltie
Livingston possible starting lineup:
Stryjek; Devlin, Fitzwater, Guthrie, Serrano; Sibbald, Holt; Mullin, Pittman, Forrest; Robinson
We say: Kilmarnock 1-2 Livingston
The home side have struggled for victories recently while the visitors are enjoying a good spell in the league. We expect Livingston to maintain their momentum and secure a slender victory this weekend.
Top betting 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 45.74%. A win for Kilmarnock had a probability of 28.45% and a draw had a probability of 25.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Livingston win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.98%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.14%) and 0-2 (8.18%). The likeliest Kilmarnock win was 1-0 (8.24%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.27%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 9.1% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Livingston would win this match.
