Livingston will be hoping to climb the Scottish Premiership table with a victory on Saturday when they host Aberdeen, who could drop out of the top half with a defeat.

Both teams shall be aiming to bounce back from defeats that they suffered in midweek, as they aim to get straight back on form this weekend.

Match preview

Livingston manager David Martindale pictured in February 2021 © Reuters

Livingston have been able to put some distance between themselves and the relegation zone recently, with the club having an eight-point gap from St Johnstone, which they shall hope to continue or increase this weekend.

The Lions defeated Hibernian in a thrilling five-goal encounter last Saturday, with the team coming from behind twice before Alan Forrest found the back of the net to earn his team all three points.

However, David Martindale's squad were unable to make that consecutive victories in midweek when they were defeated by the Saints, with a last-minute Ali Crawford goal creating a 2-1 result.

Jon Nouble was also shown a red card in the final moments of the game, making it a night to forget for the Lions, and they will now be keen to respond to that this weekend.

Aberdeen's Joe Lewis pictured in November 2020 © Reuters

Aberdeen will also be looking to get back to winning ways on Saturday after three matches without one in the Scottish Premiership, where they have picked up two draws and a defeat.

The Dons have shared points with both Rangers and Ross County as of late, while they were also beaten by St Mirren, with the club needing to push back in order to remain where they are in the league.

Another loss at the weekend could see them sink into the bottom half of the table, but on the flip side, three points would give them the chance of moving up to fifth as they look to keep progressing.

Aberdeen picked up victories both times they have played Livingston this season, scoring four times across those meetings, and they shall be hoping to replicate that result once more.

However, they have only managed to win two games away from home in the league, which is a record they will no doubt be aiming to improve upon in this half of the campaign.

Livingston Scottish Premiership form:

Livingston form (all competitions):

Aberdeen Scottish Premiership form:

Aberdeen form (all competitions):

Team News

Livingston manager David Martindale pictured in February 2021 © Reuters

Livingston will be without Nouble this weekend after he was sent off against St Johnstone, but Martindale could end up featuring the same starting XI, despite the defeat.

Bruce Anderson was on target once again in that match, continuing his performances in front of goal, and that could lead to him leading the line once again.

Dean Campbell has left Aberdeen this week on loan to Kilmarnock this week, but the club was able to debut Vicente Besuijen in their most recent outing, and he could retain his place in the team.

Meanwhile, Jonny Hayes also returned to the Dons squad against Ross County, and he marked that with a goal, which should see him start on Saturday.

Livingston possible starting lineup:
Stryjek; Devlin, Fitzwater, Obileye, Penrice; Pittman, Holt, Omeonga; Bailey, Forrest, Anderson

Aberdeen possible starting lineup:
Lewis; Ramsay, McCrorie, Bates, Hayes; McGeouch, Brown; Besuijen, Ferguson, Ojo; Ramirez

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We say: Livingston 1-1 Aberdeen

Both teams have had mixed form since the return to Scottish Premiership action after the winter break, and that is something that they would both like to end this weekend.

Aberdeen and Livingston will be hoping to get a winning run of form, but the two teams could end up playing out a draw.

Top 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 Livingston win with a probability of 38.77%. A win for Aberdeen had a probability of 33.15% and a draw had a probability of 28.1%.

The most likely scoreline for a Livingston win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.87%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.06%) and 2-0 (7.27%). The likeliest Aberdeen win was 0-1 (10.76%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.17%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with an 8.1% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Livingston would win this match.