Ross County vs Livingston
23 October 1500hrs
Football – Scotland – Scottish Premiership
Pick Under 2.5 goals
Bookmaker Betfair
Odds: 13/20 odds taken 2000 GMT, 22 October
Ross County are now the only team without a win in the Scottish Premiership and they will be looking to right that when hosting fellow strugglers Livingston on Saturday.
Table of Contents
Ross County Preview – Can County find their first league win of the season?
Malky Mackay was embarking on his first managerial challenge for six years when taking over the Ross County job this summer. And if he has forgotten what the challenges of being a coach was then he has quickly been reminded. County are bottom of the table with just three points and have the worst defensive record with 19 goals conceded. For a team who finished third bottom but just two points off bottom spot last season, this shouldn’t really be a surprise.
Mackay will point to the difficulties in assembling a squad in the summer as a mitigating factor and this was hampered further by cancellation of games and players not being able to train for a couple of weeks. But things simply have to improve otherwise County will be relegated.
Saturday’s defeat at home to St Mirren is their fourth loss in five games. It’s also the fourth time this season where County have scored twice but failed to win – they’ve lost three of those. It indicates just where the problem is for Mackay – their only clean sheet was on the opening day of the season at home to St Johnstone.
Stretching back into last season and it’s now just four wins win 22 home games for County. Over the course of the season that will result in relegation.
Livingston Preview – Will Live follow up their win last weekend with another three points?
Livingston are one of those teams who just when you think they are beginning to tread water they pull a result from nowhere and give themselves renewed hope. That was the case last week when they pulled off one of the biggest shocks of the campaign, beating St Johnstone 3-0 away from home.
It is Livingston’s first away win of the league season and just their second three points overall. They sit in 10th spot and will feel this is a good opportunity for them to increase their points tally as they take on one of the only two teams who are currently below them.
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Livi are working with the lowest budget in the Scottish top-flight so anything above second bottom would be an overachievement based on finances. But this is a club who have finished in the top six in each of the last two seasons, so they’re used to exceeding expectations and will be disappointed with their start to this season as a result.
Where Livingston differ from their opponents is in defence. They have kept three clean sheets in their last five games and conceded four goals in that time. Keeping clean sheets on a regular basis will always give them a chance of picking up points and is a fundamental element of David Martindale’s approach to the game.
Ross County vs Livingston Betting Advice
It’s a huge match in the context of the bottom of the Scottish Premiership. The longer this run without a win goes for County the more they run the risk of being cast adrift at the bottom. Livingston will hope they are on an upward trajectory after last week’s performance and looking to win back to back matches in the league for the first time in January.
Despite County being poor defensively and capable of scoring goals, recent history suggests this will be a low-scoring game. Four of the last five meetings have went under 2.5 goals.
Key Facts – Ross County vs Livingston Betting Tip
- Ross County are the only team in the Scottish Premiership without a win (three points in nine games)
- Livingston picked up their first away success of the season when beating St Johnstone 3-0
- Four of the last five meetings between the two have went under 2.5 goals
I’m happy to take under 2.5 goals and continue that trend.
Best Betting Odds for Ross County vs Livingston
