An important intervention from Stephen O'Donnell on his return to the Motherwell XI.

A whipped St Mirren corner isn't dealt with by the Motherwell defence and O'Donnell winds up nodding off the line.

Hibs starting to grow into the game. Keiron Bowie and Martin Boyle have had a few half-chances between them but none on target.

The visitors are passing it about at real pace in the final third with Junior Hoilett involved in a lot of their play.

It's St Johnstone who've been enjoying the lion's share of possession. They've had a couple of half chances but nothing concrete.

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Scotland at Tynecastle

A full house at Tynecastle with over 350 Ross County fans making the long journey down the A9. Great atmosphere inside the stadium.

Now it's St Mirren's turn to menace up the other end.

Good hold-up play from Jonah Ayunga who spins and releases Ryan Alebiosu down the right.

The wide man burns into the box, but rather than shoot across goal or look to square for Toyosi Olusanya, he tries to blast home at the near post and sends his effort high into the stand.

Bobby Wales almost gets a toe on a fizzed cross just a yard from goal but is just a whisker away before Fraser Murray then cuts the ball back into a promising area before it's lumped away.

A fast start from Killie.

It's end to end stuff already.

St Johnstone are pressing hard and as Adama Sidibeh sees his shot saved by Dimitar Mitov.

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Scotland at Tynecastle

Just bumped into the Northern Ireland manager Michael O'Neil. He has a couple of friendly games coming up against Switzerland and Sweden so who is he keeping an eye on today?

Ronan Hale is on the County bench. James Wilson qualifies for NI but has just been called up by Scotland...

Tom Sparrow spurns a glorious early chance for Motherwell to score.

There's something of a comedy fall involving three players, with Luke Plange tumbling into Alex Gogic, giving Sparrow a clear run on to a long ball in the away box.

Sparrow tries to lob Zach Hemming, but lofts his effort over the top.

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Clear blue skies and barely a breath of wind... It might be a day for goalie's caps.

Perfect conditions for clattering into tackles and getting stuck in.

Martin Dowden
BBC Scotland at Rugby Park

Derek McInnes' side find themselves right at the centre of either opportunity or a relegation dogfight. Six points off the top six, six points from the bottom of the table.

This game could well have a massive bearing on what sort of run-in Kilmarnock will face.

For Hibernian, it's simply a case of continuing the excellent form they demonstrated up until the Scottish Cup exit to Celtic.

A win today would go a very long way to securing top six. Get that done and they're in a great place to battle for that coveted third spot.

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Ross County manager Don Cowie tells BBC Scotland: "We just need to remain focused. We strive for consistency. Since the turn of the year, we've managed that. We've got to a situation where we're happy where we are. The challenge is to kick on again.

"We had to be patient. We had a short break at the end of the season. We had good momentum after winning the play-off, but lose our key player - Yan Dhanda to Hearts - and our captain - Simon Murray to Dundee.

"It takes time. We had to recruit, some players took time to bed in and get comfortable but now we are reaping the rewards."

Hearts head coach Neil Critchley tells BBC Scotland about rising star James Wilson: "He's done very well. It seems such a long time ago that I first popped my eyes on him. He's taken to it naturally. Level-headed boy, young, humble.

"He's got a thirst for knowledge and wants to improve. He's been brilliant to work with and I'm delighted for him and his family. Hopefully, he goes to Scotland in good form.

"Every individual is different and has a different way of developing. James has come straight into the first team, and shows a maturity beyond his years. His decision-making is very good for a young player, there's intelligence in his movement which is rare.

"He's a different number nine - a throwback, maybe. It's quite a rare commodity these days.|

Hibs head coach David Gray tells BBC Scotland he is delighted that Chris Cadden has signed a new contract at Easter Road.

"It's great news for everyone, I'm delighted for him," Gray said.

"He fully deserves it for everything he's done since he joined the club. He's been through a lot, long-term injury, to come back the way he has, he's a brilliant professional."

On today's game, he adds: "You don't look at the table right now, and right now it's about how many points can we accumulate between now and the split. Until it's mathematically done we need to keep trying to get into the top six as quickly as we can.

"Three points today would put us in a really strong position.

"Every game's going to be really difficult and the more points we can accumulate between now and the split gives us the best chance to finish as high as we can."

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Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes tells BBC Scotland: "I think all games are important at this stage of the season.

"We're just trying to make sure we rein in the teams above us, it's about trying to be positive with the team.

"I don't think we're a team who are not creating chances, but there's no doubt it was a bad week for us before the cup [three losses in seven days].

"It's just making sure we have trust and belief we can deal with games like today against a team who are going so well in Hibs.

"It's the nature of the league, it's so tight, not a a lot between so many teams, an anybody from sixth or seventh down can't really breathe easily at the minute.

"The good thing is we've got nine games to go and the intention is to get ourselves up the table."

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St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari tells BBC Scotland: "We have been pretty solid for a long time, the boys were looking fresh after the cup game so there was no point changing it.

"We have good players on the bench now so we can change during the game.

"Every game is big, it's like a cup final for us. We are playing against a difficult opponent, it's a big game for them so I'm expecting an intense match.

"When we were not getting results we knew exactly what wasn't working. Now we have been getting results we know what is right. We need to be solid, we need to keep Aberdeen out and we need to take our chances."

Aberdeen manager Jimmy Thelin tells BBC Scotland: "It's good to get a win before the international break.

"It's important for us to be stable and show we are on the right track so we can be competitive again at the end of the season.

"We keep pushing, when you have so many teams on the same points you can't slip. We have to be stable and show we deserve it. We have to be sharp today to get the three points."

On Sivert Nilsen's absence: "We have to make another assessment with his eye."

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