Preview: Livingston vs. Ross County - prediction, team news, lineups

Livingston trail their opponents by six points at the foot of the table, with Ross County possessing two games in hand on the sides immediately around them.

Match preview

Indeed, having collected just two points from their last 14 league matches, Livingston's six-year stay in the Scottish Premiership appears to be coming to a dismal end under David Martindale's management.

The Lions were thrashed 4-1 at home by Dundee on Saturday, which was a particularly bitter pill to swallow considering that they had an extra man for the final 16 minutes of normal time plus injury time, after Luke McCowan was dismissed for a second bookable offence.

Tete Yengi followed up his side's numerical advantage by converting a penalty to halve his side's deficit with 12 minutes left, sparking hope of a crucial late comeback for his side. However, goals from Zach Robinson and Michael Mellon gave the visitors a deserved win.

The defeat leaves Livingston nine points adrift of safety, with only 12 matches to save themselves. Should they fall to a third straight home defeat against Ross County, they would be cut completely adrift in the automatic relegation spot, and they would likely need to begin planning for instantly bouncing back to the top division.

Ross County, meanwhile, suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat away to the league leaders Celtic on Saturday. Alistair Johnston handed the hosts an early lead within the first minute, but Derek Adams' side showed plenty of resilience to contain Scotland's reigning champions.

The performance was certainly not one befitting of a team fighting against relegation, but they are in their current position for a reason, having only gained one point from their last five matches.

Former Bradford City boss Adams had gained seven points from his opening three matches in charge following his managerial appointment in late November, with his side keeping a clean sheet in all three of those games. However, they have not kept one since, failing to score in four of their last five matches and sliding down the table as a result.

Adams will be urging his players to change that recent record against the worst performing team in the Premiership on Tuesday. Victory would see them move above St Johnstone ahead of hosting them on Saturday, which would be a major boost to their hopes of avoiding finishing 11th for a second successive season.

Livingston Scottish Premiership form:

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Livingston form (all competitions):

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Ross County Scottish Premiership form:

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Ross County form (all competitions):

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Team News

Livingston are expected to remain without Cristian Montero and Jack Hamilton due to injury, but otherwise Martindale appears to have a clean bill of health at his disposal.

Yengi, who joined from Ipswich Town for an undisclosed fee earlier this month, could earn a start after displaying nerves of steel to dispatch a penalty against Dundee at the weekend. Former Liverpool goalkeeper Shamal George could also return between the posts for the hosts.

Ross County, meanwhile, are expected to travel without Ryan Leak, Scott Allardice, Dylan Smith, Ross Callachan and Ben Paton due to injury.

Adams could make a few changes after his side put in a battling performance despite falling to defeat at Celtic last time out, with the likes of Josh Sims and Eamonn Brophy capable of injecting attacking impetus for the visitors.

Livingston possible starting lineup:

George; Donnellan, Nottingham, Obileye; MacKay, Shinnie, Holt, Penrice; Yengi, Bradley; Anderson

Ross County possible starting lineup:

Wickens; Brown, Ayina, Nightingale, Borthwick-Jackson; Sims, Jenks, King, Loturi, Dhanda; Brophy

We say: Livingston 1-2 Ross County

The nature of Livingston's performance and defeat to Dundee last time out was reflective of a team that know they are doomed to relegation this season, whereas Ross County fought hard when falling to a narrow loss to Celtic earlier on Saturday.

As such, we can envisage the visitors ending their winless streak of six games against the division's bottom side on Tuesday, which would be enough to move them outside of the relegation places.

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