Hibernian will be hoping to claim their second successive Scottish Premiership win of the new campaign when they welcome Ross County to Easter Road on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts have scored nine goals in their four competitive matches so far this season, while the Staggies failed to have a single shot on target in their opening league game.
Match preview
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Hibernian kicked off the new campaign with an entertaining 3-2 victory away at Motherwell on the opening weekend.
Goals from Kevin van Veen and Bevis Mugabi put the Steelmen in front on two occasions, however Hibs pegged them back twice with goals from Kyle Magennis and Christian Doidge, before Martin Boyle's 70th-minute penalty kick proved to be the winning strike for the visitors.
Since then, the Edinburgh outfit earned a 1-1 draw against Rijeka in the third qualifying round of the inaugural Europa Conference League on Thursday, with Boyle on the scoresheet again to rescue a draw. Jack Ross was frustrated not to get the win but stated his side will travel to Croatia with "confidence and belief" that they can secure the victory next week.
Hibernian are now focussing on Sunday's Premiership clash with the Staggies, who beat them 2-0 at Easter Road last season. Their home form is something Ross would like his side to address this campaign, as they failed to win 12 of their 19 league matches in Edinburgh last term.
The imminent return of supporters to top-flight stadiums in Scotland could provide Hibs with a much-needed boost to turn their fortunes around.
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Ross County were fortunate to claim their first point of the new campaign after a goalless draw at home against St Johnstone.
The Dingwall-based outfit, who failed to have a single shot on target in the 90 minutes, gave away a 70th-minute penalty when defender Coll Donaldson had been adjudged to have fouled Reece Devine inside the area, however Ali McCann blazed his effort over the bar, to the relief of the 1,990 fans in attendance.
After what has been a difficult pre-season for Ross County, due to a coronavirus outbreak at the club, manager Malky Mackay paid tribute to his squad for their effort in training and on the pitch against the Saints.
Ross County are now about to face a difficult run of league fixtures against last season's top four, with a trip to Hibernian up first before taking on champions Rangers, Aberdeen and then Celtic.
Having taken four points from Hibs last season, the Staggies can be confident heading into Sunday's game and with the hosts sure to have one eye on their Europa Conference League second leg, Mackay's men will aim to take advantage of any potential lapse in concentration.
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Team News
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Hibernian left-back Josh Doig will be in contention to start this weekend, after missing the last two matches amid speculation surrounding his future with the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Burnley and Watford reportedly interested in the talented 19-year-old.
Midfielder Alex Gogic could return to the starting lineup at the expense of new recruit Jake Doyle-Hayes, while Magennis is expected to keep his advanced midfield role in behind striker Kevin Nisbet, with Boyle and Jamie Murphy to operate on the flanks.
As for Ross County, Mackay is unlikely to make too many changes to his starting lineup, due to the lack of squad depth at his disposal.
Midfielder Harry Paton, who represented Canada in the Gold Cup and flew back from his homeland less than 24 hours before kickoff to make the bench against St Johnstone, has been training all week and will be in contention to start ahead of Jordan Tillson.
Jordan White and Dominic Samuel are expected to keep their partnership going up front, though Oli Shaw will be hoping he can force his way into the first XI.
Hibernian possible starting lineup:
Macey; McGinn, Porteous, Hanlon, Doig; Gogic, Newell; Boyle, Magennis, Murphy; Nisbet
Ross County possible starting lineup:
Laidlaw; Watson, Donaldson, Iacovitti; Randall, Callachan, Tillson, Charles-Cook; Spittal; Samuel, White
We say: Hibernian 2-0 Ross County
Hibernian may have lost on home soil against Ross County last season, but Ross will be confident that his side can get the job done on Sunday.
The Staggies failed to pose any threat going forward last weekend and we cannot see them causing too many problems at Easter Road, with the hosts set to claim a routine win in front of their own fans.
Top 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 Hibernian win with a probability of 42.24%. A win for Ross County had a probability of 30.64% and a draw had a probability of 27.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a Hibernian win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.64%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.62%) and 2-0 (7.82%). The likeliest Ross County win was 0-1 (9.55%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.83%). The actual scoreline of 3-0 was predicted with a 3.5% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Hibernian would win this match.
