Ross County host Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday, with both sides hoping to bounce back from league defeats in their previous matches.

The Staggies, who have won just once in their last 16 top-flight matches, face a Dons side that have been victorious in 11 of their 21 league games this campaign.

Match preview

John Hughes in charge of Hibernian in 2010 © Reuters

Ross County lost their 14th league match of the season last weekend as they suffered a 3-1 away defeat against an inform Livingston side.

John Hughes's men were unable to build on picking up four points from their previous two matches against Hibernian and St Johnstone and as a result remain bottom of the Scottish Premiership, one point behind Hamilton and Motherwell, who sit in the two places above them.

Despite failing to escape from the bottom two since they slipped into the relegation zone in mid-December, things are unquestionably tight at the bottom of the league, and a few positive results for Hughes's side could see them jump out of the danger zone.

The Staggies, however, head into Saturday's clash with Aberdeen having lost eight of their last nine league meetings against them, winning their only encounter in this period by a 2-1 scoreline in February 2020.

Ross County, who remain without a home league win since their opening game of the season against Motherwell, could climb to 10th in the table with a victory on Saturday.

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes pictured in November 22, 2020 © Reuters

Aberdeen were unable to extend their unbeaten away run in the league to five matches as their away game with Livingston was postponed for the second time on Wednesday night.

Their fixture against the Lions, originally scheduled for December 30, was called off on the day because of a frozen pitch and was called off again on Wednesday, this time due to a waterlogged pitch.

Manager Derek McInnes was left frustrated after making a second wasted trip to West Lothian but had no complaints with the postponement as the match was deemed "unsafe" by referee Steven McLean.

Aberdeen's last match saw them narrowly lose to league leaders Rangers which ended their six-game unbeaten run in the Scottish Premiership.

This weekend sees the Dons travel to Ross County, having won each of their last four away league trips to Victoria Park, scoring 12 goals in the process.

Aberdeen, who have only lost one of their last 14 away league games, could move two points behind Celtic in second place if they were to lose at home to Livingston.

Ross County Scottish Premiership form: LLLWDL

Aberdeen Scottish Premiership form: WWDWDL

Team News

Ross County's Billy Mckay after sustaining an injury in September 2020 © Reuters

Ross County could see Callum Morris and Carl Tremarco return to the matchday squad, although they are unlikely to start this weekend's match.

Midfielder Charlie Lakin, who scored in the loss to Livingston, is expected to keep his place in the starting lineup.

Aberdeen remain without midfielder Dylan McGeouch who is suffering with a groin problem, while defender Michael Devlin (ankle) and forward Marley Watkins (hamstring) are also ruled out with injuries.

Midfielder Ross McCrorie, who was unavailable to face his parent club Rangers last weekend, is likely to come back into the starting lineup at the expense of Dean Campbell.

Winger Ryan Hedges, who was dismissed against the Gers, is suspended for the trip to Ross County.

Ross County possible starting lineup:
Laidlaw; Naismith, Watson, Donaldson, Iacovitti; Lakin, Vigurs, Tillison, Paton, Hylton; Shaw

Aberdeen possible starting lineup:
Lewis; Hoban, Taylor, Considine; Kennedy, Ferguson, McCrorie, McGinn; Wright, Main, Cosgrove

SM words green background

We say: Ross County 0-2 Aberdeen

Ross County, who have drawn four and lost six of their last 10 home league matches, face an Aberdeen side that have picked up 16 points on their travels this campaign, and the Dons should have enough quality to secure the three points this weekend.

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.

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 Aberdeen win with a probability of 54.17%. A draw had a probability of 25.5% and a win for Ross County had a probability of 20.36%.

The most likely scoreline for an Aberdeen win was 0-1 with a probability of 14.06%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (10.97%) and 1-2 (9.28%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.9%), while for a Ross County win it was 1-0 (7.63%). The actual scoreline of 4-1 was predicted with a 0.3% likelihood.