Hamilton Academical will make the short trip to Rugby Park on Saturday for their afternoon kickoff with Kilmarnock.
Three points against struggling Hamilton could see Killie leapfrog St Mirren into seventh place in the Scottish Premiership.
Match preview
© Reuters
With four points from their last two league outings, Kilmarnock look to be enjoying their football again after overcoming a tough period which saw them lose five games on the bounce.
Now back on track, it is fair to assume that boss Alex Dyer will have his sights firmly set on Europa League football next season.
A win on Saturday would be a statement of intent from Dyer's men and affirmation for the fans that a corner has been turned.
Against St Mirren last time out, Killie were unlucky not to take home all three points after dominating for long periods of the game.
It was 25-year-old Danny Whitehall who scored early on in that game, but Dyer's defence was eventually broken in the dying minutes of the game by a Danny Rogers own goal.
Hamilton head coach Brian Rice will be quietly confident going into this tie following his side's 1-0 victory in the reverse fixture just a few weeks ago.
It was Ross Callachan who made the difference in that game and, despite being out of action for a short spell in the interim, the midfielder has been scoring goals for fun in recent weeks.
Despite Callachan's hot goalscoring streak, the Hamilton Accies have found wins hard to come by on their travels, picking up just four points away from home in their last six games.
Fortunately for Rice's men, Killie's recent home form has not been much better, with the team's last win at Rugby Park coming in late November.
Kilmarnock Scottish Premiership form: LLLLWD
Hamilton Academical Scottish Premiership form: LWLLDW
Team News
© Reuters
In addition to having relatively few injury concerns for this tie, Dyer stuck to his guns during his side's 3-0 victory over Motherwell last time out, making just one substitution late in the game.
For the time being at least, Killie seem to have found their winning formula, and it is unlikely that Dyer will make any changes.
Things could not be more different for Rice's Accies, who are still in the midst of a dire injury crisis, with a number of first-team players still unavailable for selection.
Ryan Fulton and David Templeton are both currently out with groin injuries, while Will Collar and Marios Ogkmpoe have knee injuries.
Shaun Want is also unlikely to feature due to a lingering thigh injury.
Kilmarnock possible starting lineup:
Rogers; McGowen, Broadfoot, Findlay, Haunstrup; Burke, Mulumbu, Power, McKenzie; Kiltie, Whitehall
Hamilton Academical possible starting lineup:
Gourlay; Hodson, Hamilton, Martin, Easton, McMann; Odoffin, Stirling, Callachan; Winter, Moyo
We say: Kilmarnock 0-1 Hamilton Academical
Kilmarnock's return to form bodes well for Dyer's long-term ambitions, but we think the Hamilton Accies have both the guile and cunning to grind out a much-needed win at Rugby Park.
Top betting tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Kilmarnock win with a probability of 47.31%. A draw had a probability of 26.7% and a win for Hamilton Academical had a probability of 26.02%.
The most likely scoreline for a Kilmarnock win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.71%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.11%) and 2-1 (9.01%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.57%), while for a Hamilton Academical win it was 0-1 (8.78%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 9.1% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Kilmarnock would win this match.
