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

Ross County will be looking to secure their Scottish Premiership status on the final game of the season when they host Aberdeen on Sunday.

The visitors are not going to roll over in this one, though, as they are attempting to finish top of the relegation group.

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Match preview

Ross County missed out on the opportunity to guarantee their safety in midweek when they faced St Johnstone as the two teams ended up sharing the spoils after a 1-1 draw.

It was a frustrating night for Don Cowie as he saw his side throw away their one-goal lead in the 90th minute when Adama Sidibeh found the back of the net for the Saints.

That result ensured that the battle for the relegation playoff spot will go down to the wire, and while everything is in Ross County's hands, it will provide a lot of pressure.

St Johnstone will have to win their game to stand any chance of overtaking the Staggies but a draw for Cowie's men would leave it up to goal difference, while a loss and a win for the Saints would see them slip down.

That leads to this being a must-win match in many ways, as that is what fans will want to see to guarantee their survival without having to deal with the relegation playoff match at all.

While the visitors have no threat of relegation, Aberdeen will not be taking their foot off the pedal for the final match of the season as they still have plenty to play for.

The Dons currently sit top of the relegation group, and that is a position the fans will be expecting them to finish in when Sunday is over.

However, with Hibernian just two points behind them there is very little margin for error when it comes to this match, as a defeat or a draw could lead to them slipping down the table at the final hurdle.

The Dons are in fantastic form, though, having not lost in their previous eight league matches as they have strung together an impressive run to end the season.

That included a 5-1 thrashing of Livingston in their most recent outing where Aberdeen ended up coming from behind to score five goals in the second half.

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Team News

Ross County heads into this match with several injuries as Scott Allardice, Ross Callachan, Max Sheaf and Dylan Smith have all been missing lately.

The Staggies will be boosted by the return of Jack Baldwin from suspension, with the defender potentially slotting straight back into the team.

Aberdeen youngster Fletcher Boyd came off the bench to get on the scoresheet again in midweek, marking his second goal in as many games for the club which will put him in contention for this weekend.

Despite that, it is Bojan Miovski who is likely to start the game and spearhead the attack for the visitors.

Ross County possible starting lineup: Laidlaw; Ayina, Baldwin, Leak; Efete, Randall, King, Reid; Dhanda; Murray, White

Aberdeen possible starting lineup: Roos; Devlin, Gartenmann, MacDonald, MacKenzie; Barron; McGrath, Clarkson, Polvara, Hoilett; Miovski

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We say: Ross County 1-3 Aberdeen

There might be a lot on the line in this game for Ross County, but they will still head into it as the underdogs due to the season that Aberdeen have had.

The recent run of form the visitors have been on is impressive and that should lead to them taking three points here.

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

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