Match preview: Ross County look to play themselves into form against out of kilter Livingston
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Ross County will host Livingston in front of 300 season ticket holders with both teams struggling to pick up points in recent weeks.
The Staggies have gone without a league win since they beat St Johnstone in September, while Livingston have lost their last three Premiership matches.
So both sides will be looking for a fresh start by picking up three points at the Global Energy Stadium, and County will certainly be hoping that having supporters back in the ground cheering them on will give them a timely boost.
Team News
Ross County: Connor Randall was due to go for a scan yesterday to determine the extent of the hamstring issue that forced him off against Dundee United last weekend, but he will definitely miss out this evening.
Ross Draper and Callum Morris are still struggling with their own injury issues, so are unlikely to be involved at all against Livingston.
Livingston: Former Staggies winger Josh Mullin is in line to play against his former club at the first opportunity, having re-signed for Livi at the start of October.
Alan Lithgow and Keaghan Jacobs are long-term concerns with hip and foot issues respectively, but Gary Holt has no new injuries to contend with.
Recent form
Ross County: lost 2–1 away at Dundee United, lost 4–0 away at Motherwell, drew 0–0 at home against Hibernian, won 2–1 at home against Arbroath, drew 3–3 away at Montrose (won 5–4 on penalties).
Livingston: lost 2–0 at home against Motherwell, lost 2–0 away at Rangers, lost 3–1 at home against Kilmarnock, won 2–1 at home against Alloa Athletic, won 5–1 away at Edinburgh City.
Head-to-head (all competitions)
Ross County 5
Draws 8
Livingston 13
Last five meetings
Livingston 1–0 Ross County – Premiership, Saturday, August 29, 2020
Ross County 2–0 Livingston – Premiership, Wednesday, February 5, 2020
Livingston 4–0 Ross County – Premiership, Saturday, December 21, 2019
Ross County 1–4 Livingston – Premiership, Saturday, August 24, 2019
Livingston 1–3 Ross County – Division One, Saturday, April 7, 2012
Ones to watch
Ross County: Oli Shaw – the former Hibernian striker may be seen to have had an underwhelming impact since signing for Ross County in January, but there are signs he is starting to find his feet.
Make no mistake about it, the form of Ross Stewart and Billy Mckay last season made it tough for him to get minutes on the pitch, while the pandemic was not helpful for anyone's development.
This season though as the Staggies have struggled in front of goal, Shaw has gotten his chance, and his first goal in the Betfred Cup followed by his first league goal for the club last weekend will do his confidence the world of good.
Now it is up to Shaw to push on and make himself an integral part of the starting 11, and if he does that through finding the net it will only bode well for County.
Livingston: Josh Mullin – a fan favourite at Ross County when they won promotion from the Championship, the winger will not be lacking motivation to perform when he returns to Dingwall.
Since moving back to Livingston, the 28-year-old has been a regular part of the side, immediately impressing in their Betfred Cup matches against Edinburgh City and Alloa Athletic.
With the Lions going without a point in their last three league games though, Mullin and co need a Premiership win soon, and Mullin will want to deliver that at the Global Energy Stadium.
Ross County manager Stuart Kettlewell's pre-match thoughts
“It is always a tough game and you have to earn anything you get against Livingston. With their energy and aggression, I don’t see this one being any different.
“They are off the back of a disappointing result, as are we and it will be two teams desperately trying to put points on the board.
“We want to stop what looks like a boorish run in recent weeks, albeit I thought the performance was decent against Dundee United but, ultimately, we will be judged on the points we gain and we didn’t pick up anything from what I felt was a dominant performance.
"It will be a game under the floodlights, which is something we always speak about as giving us a wee advantage.
"There are some cracking memories of games at night in front of our supporters in recent years – we don't have many supporters but it's still up to us to go and generate a performance and a result that has us purring after it."
