Dundee will compete against Ross County on Saturday in what will be a true six-pointer between two teams fighting for survival within the SPL this season, as just five points separate them.

The hosts could lift themselves off the foot of the table with a victory, meanwhile, the Staggies shall be attempting to make it three games in a row without a defeat.

Match preview

Dundee find themselves five points adrift of safety heading into Saturday's match, placing a lot of pressure on the squad in order to not let Ross County run away from them.

The Dark Blues have struggled this season, having only won four games in the league to this point, but they have made some improvements since the recent winter break.

Although they lost their first match back, since then, Dundee have gone three games without a defeat in all competitions, and impressively the squad have kept clean sheets in all of those.

James McPake's side have picked up two consecutive goalless draws, with the most recent taking place against their local rivals Dundee United, with the two teams battling it out to a stalemate.

However, they will need to start turning those results into three points soon in order to begin climbing the table, should the club stand any chance of surviving this season.

Ross County also head into this match on the back of two draws, but they conceded four goals across those, which highlights why they have the worst defensive record in the division.

One of those fixtures did see them take a point against Rangers though, in what was a thrilling game that finished 3-3, with a 96th-minute goal from Matthew Wright earning them that point.

Malky Mackay's squad followed that up by taking another point against a team in the top half of the table as they came from behind to draw 1-1 with Aberdeen, this time with Ross Callachan getting on the scoresheet.

The Staggies have created a five-point cushion between themselves and the bottom two places in the league, but they will be keen to maintain or extend that this weekend.

They have already defeated Dundee twice this season, and games between these teams tend to produce goals, with Ross County winning 5-0 and 3-2 in their previous encounters.

Team News

Dundee will be without Leigh Griffiths this weekend after he made the decision to reject an offer from the Dark Blues in favour of becoming a free agent in football.

Danny Mullen will likely lead the line for the home side because of that, as he looks to help his teammates find the back of the net for the first time after two games with no goals.

The Staggies will likely continue their conventional 4-4-2 formation on Saturday, which will offer something different against how Dundee traditionally set up, which could make this more of a tactical encounter.

Callachan shall be hoping to continue his form in front of goal during this match, while it will likely be Dominic Samuel and Jordan White who work together upfront.

Dundee possible starting lineup:
Legzdins; Daley-Campbell, Fontaine, Sweeney, Kerr; Anderson, Byrne; McMullan, Adam, McGinn; Mullen

Ross County possible starting lineup:
Laidlaw; Ramsay, Watson, Iacovitti, Vokins; Charles-Cook, Callachan, Tillson, Hungbo; White, Samuel

We say: Dundee 2-1 Ross County

Even though it has been Ross County who came out on top in their previous two meetings, Dundee have a lot more on the line when it comes to this particular match.

The club cannot afford to allow Ross County to grow an eight-point gap between them, and in front of their own fans, the Dark Blues should be able to get three points.

Previews by email