On the back of thwarting runaway leaders Celtic on home soil, Hibernian swiftly return to Easter Road for a Scottish Premiership date with Ross County on Tuesday evening.
Nick Montgomery's men held the champions to a goalless stalemate over the weekend, while their visitors also took home a slice of the spoils from a six-goal spectacular with Motherwell.
Match preview
© Reuters
Meeting both of the Old Firm behemoths within the space of seven days, a 4-0 hammering at the hands of Rangers was not ideal preparation for the visit of Celtic to Easter Road, but Montgomery's Hibs kept the treble winners at bay with staunch defending throughout the 90 minutes.
Chances to snatch all three points themselves even passed the hosts by, but thanks to resolute rearguard action and the praiseworthy efforts of 38-year-old shot-stopper David Marshall, the Hibees stopped Brendan Rodgers's men in their tracks.
As applaudable as Saturday's result was, a third game from four without finding the back of the net will no doubt raise a couple of alarm bells, but Montgomery insisted that he has an "unwavering belief" in his style of play, despite his team's mediocre standing in the table.
Indeed, Hibs have accrued 10 points from as many outings in the 2023-24 season to occupy eighth place in the rankings - only one clear of their upcoming opponents in the bottom two - and the hosts have now endured a four-game winless run heading into their midweek showdown.
However, that aforementioned drubbing at the hands of Rangers represents Hibs' only defeat from eight matches in all tournaments since the beginning of September, while two wins and two draws from their last four home contests sets Montgomery's team up well for a meeting with the basement battlers.
© Reuters
The 5,199-strong crowd at Fir Park were subjected to a goalless opening 65 minutes between Motherwell and Ross County, but the floodgates well and truly opened during a frenetic final half-hour, where Eamonn Brophy, Simon Murray and Victor Loturi would ostensibly end Ross County's dismal winless streak.
Loturi had restored Ross County's two-goal cushion after Mika Biereth pegged one back for Motherwell, but the fit-again Arsenal loanee - who was only brought on in the 75th minute - was the thorn in Malky Mackay's side again, as he set up Conor Wilkinson for a Motherwell second before 17-year-old Luca Ross incredibly snatched a point from the jaws of defeat in added time.
A dumbstruck Mackay was left to bemoan "horrendous" goals gifted away by his otherwise "terrific" players, whose late capitulation means that Ross County are languishing in the playoff place with nine points to their name, although they have an unassailable lead over 12th-placed St Johnstone.
Now without a win in six successive matches across all tournaments, Ross County can take some solace from the fact that their most recent maximum came on the road - a 1-0 beating of Kilmarnock on September 2 - and after failing to score in three successive league fixtures, Mackay's men made the net bulge three times in the space of 18 minutes at Fir Park.
Ross County also managed to avoid defeat in both of their Scottish Premiership battles with Hibs last year, clinching a 2-0 win at Easter Road before holding out for a 1-1 draw on home turf, and despite the hosts' recent affinity for goalless draws, there has not been such an outcome in this fixture since October 2020.
Team News
© Reuters
No Hibernian players reported any physical glitches following their hard-earned point against Celtic, but Chris Cadden (Achilles) and Jake Doyle-Hayes (ankle) remain on the long-term injury list and may not return before the end of 2023, while Christian Doidge is touch and go with a groin concern.
Winger Harry McKirdy - who underwent heart surgery in the summer - is also working with the ball on the training pitches as he steps up his recovery, but Hibs are unsurprisingly putting no pressure on the 26-year-old, while goalkeeper Joe Wollacott was on the bench for a second successive game on Saturday after battling back from a thigh injury.
Still waiting to make his Scottish Premiership debut, Wollacott should be kept at bay by the veteran Marshall once more, while Adam Le Fondre - who is only two years his goalkeeper's junior - could be deployed up top if Montgomery feels the need to introduce fresh legs.
Meanwhile, Ross County will once again be left to work without long-term knee victims Ben Paton and Ross Callachan, while Josh Reid is struggling with a toe problem and should not make the cut either.
Will Nightingale was a question mark before the draw with Motherwell after sitting out last week's showdown with Dundee, and the Wimbledon loanee was nowhere to be seen at Fir Park either, so an unchanged back five ought to take to the field here.
Playmaker Yan Dhanda only lasted 45 minutes before being hooked at the weekend, though, so Scott High or Kyle Turner may now threaten the 24-year-old's spot in the centre of the park.
Hibernian possible starting lineup:
Marshall; Miller, Fish, Oshiri, Stevenson; Youan, Levitt, Newell, Tavares; Boyle, Le Fondre
Ross County possible starting lineup:
Laidlaw; Brown, Randall, Leak, Baldwin, Harmon; High, Allardice, Loturi; Murray, Brophy
We say: Hibernian 2-0 Ross County
Whether Ross County's second-half flurry at Fir Park is a sign of things to come remains to be seen, but Mackay's side have been far from consistent in the final third, and their misery should be prolonged at Easter Road.
Out for a slice of revenge after last year's two-goal beating, Hibs could be on the correct end of an identical scoreline this week, as Montgomery's men have developed a knack for picking up points on home soil.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
