Ross County will host Dundee United on Saturday in the latest Scottish Premiership fixture, which will see two clubs at opposite ends of the table colliding.
Both teams were able to pick up victories on their return after the international break though, which should bring some confidence into this particular tie.
Match preview
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Ross County currently finds themselves at the foot of the table after a difficult first half of the season, but the club have kept in touching distance of safety.
The Staggies are only a point behind Dundee, while there are just four between them and Livingston, who are outside of the relegation zone.
A string of victories could be enough to pull them out of their current situation and that is something that might have begun recently.
Blair Spittal scored the only goal of the game against Hibernian to earn his team only their second victory of the season, but with a clean sheet as well there were plenty of positives to take away from the match.
Ross County have also made major improvements offensively as well, having found the back of the net 10 times in their previous four fixtures, which could see them in good stead on Saturday.
When the two teams last met, Dundee United were able to take the three points, but it was a narrow victory with Ilmari Niskanen's goal being the only thing to separate them.
The entire match was closely contested in terms of possession and shots, which showcases the competitive nature of the division and will give confidence to Ross County for the weekend.
The Terrors were able to get themselves back to winning ways at the weekend, after a period of three games without one, when they faced Aberdeen.
Despite the fact that they went down to 10 men in the first half when Calum Butcher saw red, Dundee United snuck a 1-0 win when Ian Harkes found the back of the net in the 80th minute.
Goals are something the team have struggled for this season though, with Ross County having actually scored more despite being bottom of the league, which is something that they will be aiming to improve upon in the busy Winter months.
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Team News
After securing three points at the weekend, the hosts could opt to name an unchanged starting XI in a bid to continue the momentum into this weekend.
However, after coming from the bench to score the winner, there could be a place for Spittal as Ross County look to provide an attacking threat.
The visitors will be without Butcher as he begins his suspension following a red card last week and that will force a change in the heart of the midfield, with Declan Glass likely to fill the void.
Jeando Fuchs is also an injury concern after he had to be replaced against Aberdeen, which could lead to further disruption in the middle of the park.
Ross County possible starting lineup:
Maynard-Brewer; Clarke, Baldwin, Lacovitti, Randall; Hungbo, Paton, Tillson, Charles-Cook, Callachan; White
Dundee United possible starting lineup:
Siegrist; Freeman, Edwards, Mulgrew, McMann; Glass, Hoti, Pawlett, Harkes, Niskanen; Clark
We say: Ross County 1-1 Dundee United
Dundee United are certainly the favourites when it comes to this particular fixture; however, Ross County have proven themselves to be harder to beat as of late.
With more confidence and their home crowd behind them, the Staggies might have enough to hang on and earn a point in this one.
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 Dundee United win with a probability of 45.8%. A win for Ross County had a probability of 27.76% and a draw had a probability of 26.4%.
The most likely scoreline for a Dundee United win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.86%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.01%) and 0-2 (8.53%). The likeliest Ross County win was 1-0 (8.72%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.54%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 12.5% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a 1-1 draw for this match.
