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Ross County
Scottish Premiership | Gameweek 7
Sep 30, 2023 at 3pm UK
Global Energy Stadium
Hearts logo

Ross County
0 - 1
Hearts


Randall (18'), Turner (29'), Allardice (90+5')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Forrest (69')
Offiah (32'), Halliday (90+1')

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

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Scottish Premiership clash between Ross County and Hearts, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Ross County will look to end a three-game winless run in all competitions when they welcome Hearts to the Global Energy Stadium for Saturday's Scottish Premiership meeting.

The visitors, meanwhile, are hoping to claim back-to-back victories after enjoying success in the Scottish League Cup in midweek.


Match preview

Ross County manager Malky Mackay reacts on April 2, 2023© Reuters

After preserving their top-flight status with a penalty-shootout win in the relegation playoff, Ross County will be encouraged by the steady start that they have made to the Scottish Premiership season.

They picked up six points in their opening four matches courtesy of victories over St Johnstone and Kilmarnock before they added to their points tally with a 1-1 draw against Livingston.

Unfortunately for Malky Mackay's side, they suffered their biggest defeat of the season last weekend when they were thrashed 4-0 by Aberdeen.

They were unable to avenge that defeat in Wednesday's Scottish League Cup quarter-final against the same opponent, falling to a 2-1 defeat after playing the majority of the contest with 10 men following Jack Baldwin's red card.

Ross County, who occupy seventh place, will turn their attention to Saturday's contest, where they will attempt to claim their first victory over Hearts since March 2017.

Hearts' Andy Halliday celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates on October 27, 2022© Reuters

Hearts have experienced a mixed start to the Scottish Premiership season, winning two, drawing one and losing three of their opening six games.

After taking four points from their first two matches, Steven Naismith's side were stopped in their tracks by consecutive 1-0 defeats to Dundee and Motherwell, before they returned to winning ways with a 2-0 home victory over Aberdeen.

They missed the opportunity to follow that result with another victory, as they fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat in their away meeting with St Mirren last weekend, leaving them in sixth place and level on seven points with Saturday's opponents.

In contrast to Ross County, the Jambos enjoyed a successful outing in the Scottish League Cup in midweek, with Alex Lowry netting a stoppage-time winner to guide his team to a 2-1 victory over Kilmarnock, sealing their place in the semi-finals for the first time since the 2019-20 season.

While Rangers await Hearts at Hampden Park in November's semi-final, Naismith's charges will focus on league matters in the meantime, beginning with Saturday's encounter at Tynecastle, where they will look to claim back-to-back home victories.

Ross County Scottish Premiership form:


Ross County form (all competitions):


Hearts Scottish Premiership form:


Hearts form (all competitions):



Team News

Ross County manager Malky Mackay reacts on March 19, 2022© Reuters

Ross County are still without the services of long-term absentees Ross Callachan and Ben Paton, who are both sidelined with knee injuries.

Max Sheaf is nearing a return to action after missing the last five matches through injury, but Saturday's contest will come too soon for the pair.

After being shown a straight red card in Wednesday's cup tie, Baldwin will miss the meeting with Hearts through suspension.

As for the visitors, their injury list includes Craig Gordon, Alexander Cochrane, Barrie McKay, Craig Halkett, Nathaniel Atkinson and Kyosuke Tagawa.

Yutaro Oda is progressing well in his recovery from a hamstring issue, but he remains unavailable for Saturday's away trip.

Striker Liam Boyce is expected to return to the starting lineup after being used as a substitute in the midweek cup win over Kilmarnock.


Ross County possible starting lineup:
Laidlaw; Nightingale, Leak, Harmon; Brown, Randall, Turner, Reid; Dhanda; Murray, White

Hearts possible starting lineup:
Clark; Sibbick, Kent, Rowles, Kingsley; Nieuwenhof, Devlin; Grant, Boyce, Vargas; Shankland


SM words green background

We say: Ross County 1-2 Hearts

Although Hearts have been inconsistent in the Scottish Premiership, they will carry some momentum into Saturday's encounter following a dramatic victory in the Scottish League Cup.

We think that the visitors will follow that result by claiming all three points against a side they have beaten in the last three meetings.



For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data


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Game History

How you voted: Ross County vs Hearts

Ross County
0.0%
Draw
16.7%
Hearts
83.3%
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General view of Tynecastle Park, home to Hearts, from 2011
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rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Celtic1110103132831
2Aberdeen11101024101431
3RangersRangers11713168822
4Dundee UnitedDundee Utd125431813519
5Motherwell116141514119
6St Mirren134361722-515
7Dundee123361824-612
8Kilmarnock123361525-1012
9Ross County132651021-1112
10St Johnstone133191627-1110
11Hearts132381420-69
12Hibernian121561118-78


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