Aiming to end a disappointing winless run, Ross County are set to host Kilmarnock at the Global Energy Stadium on Saturday afternoon in the Scottish Premiership.
The hosts sit 10th in the division with just seven points from nine games, while the visitors have nine points from their first eight league matches.
Match preview
© Imago
Ross County have faced two challenging years in the Scottish Premiership, finishing in the relegation playoff spots in both of the last two seasons.
They narrowly survived with a 5-4 penalty victory after a 4-4 aggregate draw against Partick Thistle in 2022-23, before comfortably beating Raith Rovers 6-1 in 2023-24.
Don Cowie, who has been in charge since February 2024, would have been aiming to avoid being drawn into a third successive relegation scrap this year, but a poor start to the campaign has left them in 10th after nine games.
They started the campaign without a win in their first four, two draws and two defeats, before beating Dundee 2-0, but they have failed to build on that result in following matches, remaining without a win in their last four with back-to-back losses heading into this one.
Cowie will be looking for his team to secure a crucial win on Saturday, drawing confidence from their recent home success against Kilmarnock, with Ross County remaining undefeated at the Global Energy Stadium in their last seven encounters, winning four and drawing three.
As for Kilmarnock, after impressively finishing fourth in 2023-24, they would have been extremely disappointed with their challenging start to the 2024-25 term.
They failed to win any of their first five outings across all competitions, resulting in them being eliminated from the Europa League qualifiers in the second round, before finally defeating Tromso IL in the second leg of their Conference League third round qualifier.
Derek McInnes's side then went winless in their next seven matches, recording three losses and four draws, which included being eliminated from the Conference League during the playoff round.
However, Killie have shown significant improvement in their last two outings, achieving back-to-back victories for the first time since April, defeating Dundee 3-2 and Rangers 1-0.
The most recent triumph against Rangers will give Kilmarnock huge confidence heading into this game against the struggling Ross County, a side they defeated 1-0 in their last meeting.
Team News
![Stuart Findlay defender of Kilmarnock FC during the UEFA Europa League Second qualifying round, 2nd leg match between Cercle Brugge and Kilmarnock F.C. at the Jan Breydel stadium on August 01, 2024 [on August 2, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/31/stuart-findlay.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Stuart Findlay defender of Kilmarnock FC during the UEFA Europa League Second qualifying round, 2nd leg match between Cercle Brugge and Kilmarnock F.C. at the Jan Breydel stadium on August 01, 2024 [on August 2, 2024]")
© Imago
The hosts will be missing George Harmon, Max Sheaf, Ricki Lamie, and Will Nightingale for this match due to injuries, although the first three are expected to make their return in November.
Elijah Campbell and Charles Telfer are both also ruled out after receiving red cards in the 3-0 defeat to St Johnstone in their last outing.
Ross County will once again be looking to Ronan Hale for the goals, with the striker having scored four times in nine league appearances this term.
Kyle Magennis and Liam Polworth are both out with injury issues for Kilmarnock, though both are likely to return early next month.
Elsewhere, having defeated Rangers 1-0 in their last fixture, McInnes is likely to name the same starting team for this one.
Ross County possible starting lineup:
Laidlaw; Wright, Lopata, Leak; Efete, Allardice, Randall, Reid; Nisbet; Hale, Brophy
Kilmarnock possible starting lineup:
McCrorie; Mayo, Deas, Findlay, Ndaba; Armstrong, Lyons, Donnelly, Kennedy; Vassell, Watkins
We say: Ross County 1-2 Kilmarnock
The visitors are enjoying a much-improved vein of form in recent games, winning each of their last two, while the hosts come into this one on the back of successive defeats, leading us to believe Kilmarnock will win this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
![Stuart Kettlewell file photo of Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell, who is looking to tie down the majority of his squad before pre-season as he revealed every player knows where they stand ahead of Sunday s final game - 22/04/2023 [on July 26, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/11/29/1x1.gif?w=1&h=1 "Stuart Kettlewell file photo of Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell, who is looking to tie down the majority of his squad before pre-season as he revealed every player knows where they stand ahead of Sunday s final game - 22/04/2023 [on July 26, 2024]")
