Sports Mole previews Wednesday's Scottish Premiership clash between Livingston and Dundee United, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

After cruising to victory against Dundee last weekend, Livingston will be looking to secure another victory against Tayside opposition when they face Dundee United on Wednesday night.

The Lions have accumulated 10 points from their last 15 available at the Tony Macaroni Stadium, while the Tangerines have failed to win any of their last nine league matches on the road.

Match preview

Livingston manager David Martindale pictured in February 2021 © Reuters

Livingston ended a three-game winless run in all competitions with a comfortable 4-0 victory against basement club Dundee at Dens Park on Saturday, their biggest top-flight win since December 2019.

The Lions raced into a three-goal lead within the first 21 minutes thanks to a brace from top goalscorer Bruce Anderson – who has now netted 11 league goals this term – and a strike from Scott Pittman, before Jack Fitzwater added a fourth midway through the second half to seal their ninth league win of the season.

David Martindale's men have climbed up to seventh in the Premiership table, 12 points clear of the relegation zone and just one point behind the top four.

Livingston head into Wednesday's fixture having lost only one of their last six home matches in the top flight. They have also suffered defeat in only one of their last six league games against Dundee United, losing 3-0 at Tannadice in February 2021.

The Lions have already claimed four points from a possible six available against the Tangerines this season, so Martindale and co will be confident of securing another positive result in midweek.

Dundee United's Calum Butcher is shown a yellow card by the referee on January 29, 2022 © Reuters

Dundee United followed up their impressive 1-1 draw at home against champions Rangers with another draw by the same scoreline away at Aberdeen last weekend.

Both goals were scored within the first 16 minutes, with Marc McNulty's fourth-minute opener from the penalty spot cancelled out by an unfortunate own goal from Ryan Edwards.

Tam Courts's side are now unbeaten in their last six games across all competitions and remain in fifth place in the Premiership standings, one point ahead of Wednesday's opponents Livingston.

Dundee United have struggled at the Tony Macaroni Stadium in recent years, as they have failed to win any of their last seven visits since a 2-0 victory back in February 2005, thanks to goals from Stevie Crawford and James Grady.

Victory for the Tangerines in midweek would end their nine-game winless league run away from home and could push them up to fourth if Hibernian failed to beat Dundee.

Livingston Scottish Premiership form:

Livingston form (all competitions):

Dundee United Scottish Premiership form:

Dundee United form (all competitions):

Team News

Livingston's Jason Holt pictured in August 2020 © Reuters

Livingston's Russian goalkeeper Ivan Konovalov, who joined the club on a temporary deal in January, was an unused substitute last weekend and he will likely remain on the substitutes' bench on Wednesday, with Max Stryjek set to continue between the sticks.

Pittman, Jason Holt and Stephane Omeonga all started in centre-midfield against Dundee and the trio are expected to retain their places in the first XI, with wingers Joel Nouble and Alan Forrest to join Anderson in attack.

As for Dundee United, Dylan Levitt is a major doubt after being withdrawn in the first half last weekend with a muscle injury, so Calum Butcher could be recalled to start in centre-midfield.

Dundee United's Tony Watt, who has scored in both of his last two league appearances at the Tony Macaroni Arena, is set to join McNulty in attack, though Nicky Clark will also be pushing to start.

Livingston possible starting lineup:
Stryjek; Devlin, Obileye, Fitzwater, Penrice; Holt, Omeonga, Pittman; Forrest, Anderson, Nouble

Dundee United possible starting lineup:
Siegrist; Edwards, Mulgrew, Graham; Smith, Harkes, McDonald, Butcher, Niskanen; Watt, McNulty

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We say: Livingston 2-1 Dundee United

A closely-fought contest between two evenly-matched sides is set to take place on Wednesday, with the visitors seeking to end their poor away record at the Tony Macaroni Stadium.

However, with the hosts in high spirits after last weekend's victory, they may do just enough to secure a slender win in front of their home supporters.

Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 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.

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 Livingston win with a probability of 44.5%. A win for Dundee United had a probability of 28.06% and a draw had a probability of 27.4%.

The most likely scoreline for a Livingston win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.75%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.68%) and 2-0 (8.6%). The likeliest Dundee United win was 0-1 (9.55%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.88%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with an 8.7% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a 2-1 win for Livingston in this match and our data analysis correctly predicted the win for Livingston.