Looking to extend their unbeaten run to four matches, Kilmarnock will welcome basement dwellers Livingston to The BBSP Stadium on Wednesday night for a Scottish Premiership encounter.
Killie managed to earn a point from a trip to Motherwell on the weekend, while the Lions were unable to return from Ibrox with anything to show for their efforts.
Match preview
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Since the 2-1 loss against Phillipe Clement's Rangers on January 2, Kilmarnock have enjoyed a three-game unbeaten run across the Premiership and Scottish Cup, earning a point from a hard-fought contest with Motherwell at Fir Park last time out, although it could have been all three.
Netting his maiden goal of the 2023-24 term, right-back Lewis Mayo came up trumps in the early stages of the match to give Killie the lead, but they were unable to hold on for maximum points, with Canadian marksman Theo Bair breaching the net of Will Dennis for the Steelmen.
Just the single defeat in the last nine Premiership matches has allowed Derek McInnes's men to climb up to fourth in the top-tier standings with 33 points from 24 matches, sitting seven points ahead of seventh-placed Hibernian but a mammoth 25 points behind league leaders Celtic.
No side in the top six of the division has scored fewer goals than Kilmarnock this season, and Wednesday's hosts tend to share the scoring responsibility around their ranks, with Kyle Vassell, Marley Watkins and Danny Armstrong all players who can come up with a moment of magic.
Only Rangers and Celtic possess a better home record than Killie in the Premiership so far this campaign, with McInnes's charges losing just two of their 12 league matches in front of their Rugby Park faithful - the most recent of those defeats arrived on December 7 against third-placed Hearts.
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Turning up to the home of Rangers on Saturday afternoon, not even the most optimistic Livingston fan would have been expecting their side to earn their first win in the Premiership since early October, and the Lions were unable to upset the odds at Ibrox as they lost 3-0.
Making his home debut, Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee Fabio Silva opened the scoring for the Gers in the 40th minute, before strikes from Rabbi Matondo and ex-Norwich City man Todd Cantwell made sure of the points for the hosts from a game in which the visitors failed to muster a shot on Jack Butland's goal.
Following another disappointing day on their travels last time out, David Martindale's side remain rooted to the foot of the Premiership standings with a mere 13 points from their opening 24 matches, meaning they are six points adrift of 11th-placed Ross County.
The Lions possess the league's worst attack and leakiest defence simultaneously, so the January transfer window was a crucial moment when the strugglers needed to add quality to their ranks, with Michael McGovern and Tete Yengi joining on loan from Hearts and Ipswich Town respectively, while David Carson arrived on a free transfer from Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
Livingston have lost their last two matches at the BBSP Stadium by an aggregate scoreline of 5-1, but Martindale's did come out on top of a five-goal thriller between the sides in Kilmarnock in November 2022, when strikes from Bruce Anderson, Sean Kelly and a Chris Stokes own goal were enough for victory.
Team News
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Kilmarnock were relatively solid during their trip to Fir Park on Saturday, meaning centre-back duo Stuart Findlay and Joe Wright should be selected once again.
After lacking that clinical edge to find a winner in the second period at Motherwell, the likes of Gary Mackay-Steven and Kevin van Veen could start following cameos off the bench on the weekend.
Right-back Mayo will retain his spot in the XI after netting only his second goal in first-team football, with Welshman Thomas Davies expected to play at left-back.
Livingston are set to make a couple of changes from the side which barely laid a glove on Rangers at Ibrox, with Joel Nouble and James Penrice prime candidates to drop to the bench.
Striker Anderson and Sean Kelly were introduced to the Glasgow contest at half time on the weekend, and the pair could be promoted to the starting XI on Wednesday night.
Kilmarnock possible starting lineup:
Dennis; Mayo, Wright, Findlay, Davies; Armstrong, Watson, Polworth, Kennedy; Vassell, Van Veen
Livingston possible starting lineup:
George; Brandon, Donnellan, Obileye, Sangare; Kelly, Pittman, Holt, Carson, Shinnie; Anderson
We say: Kilmarnock 2-0 Livingston
Kilmarnock earned a respectable point at Motherwell last time out, and with January arrival Van Veen set for his full debut, the hosts will be confident of easing past Livingston on Wednesday.
The Lions will have more chances to impress in an attacking sense than they did at Ibrox on the weekend, nevertheless we feel that the end result will be the same at Rugby Park.
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Carter White
