Ross County manager Malky Mackay: "It was a really tight game at the start of the season and the game down there was tight as well. I thought we were excellent at Rugby Park but we came away with a loss. I don't think there is much between the teams. It's going to be a tough day for us but we are really looking forward to it.

"We've got some fresh blood in for the second half of the season in so when the players became available it gave us some options. Eamonn [Brophy] is a proven Premiership player.

"I know the responsibility falls on my shoulders. I am trying to do my best to make sure we climb the table. We need to pick up our points."

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Rangers manager Michael Beale has been speaking about putting Todd Cantwell straight in for a debut.

"He's a really talented young player and comes into a midfield of Kamara, Tillman and Ryan Kent," he said on Sportsound. "Players of a similar level in the way they see the game.

"He's had two or three sessions with us and he's looked sharp. He's come here to be an important player for the future and I wanted to put him straight in.

"I want him to break some rules and turn up in areas the opposition aren't expecting. He's not played in two-and-a-half months so I'm not expecting a 90-minute performance.

"Having Ianis Haig back on the bench as well after a year out - it shows we're moving in the right direction."

Hibs manager Lee Johnson insists his side played well in "a lot of the game" despite last weekend's loss to Hearts and is relishing "the chance to leapfrog Aberdeen".

"It's intense," he says of Scottish football. "It's good, I like it, I like the intensity of it. Any win catapults you because obviously the league's so tight.

"There's a lot of columns to fill, a lot of radio airtime to fill and we have to be the ones to cope with it."

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Former Hibs midfielder Michael Stewart describes those comments from Lee Johnson on Kevin Nisbet's fitness as "extremely unhelpful for all parties".

"He has opened debate on the issue, perhaps unintentionally," adds Sportsound colleague Tom English.

Hibs manager Lee Johnson suggests the collapse of Kevin Nisbet's transfer to Millwall is "bittersweet".

"Sometimes it happens in football - the player doesn't get the vibe for a club or it can't be worked out for whatever reason," he tells BBC Scotland.

"The reason he is on the bench is because he hasn't trained all week as he had a bit of a knee nudge last week, a dead leg."

Asked if it was an injury problem that caused the problem with the move to London, given Nisbet has only recently returned from nine month out with an ACL injury, Johnson replies: "There's obviously going to be a deficiency in muscle strength based on a return to play, but he's fit, he's mobile, he's strong and he's scoring goals."

Jane Lewis
BBC Sport Scotland at Ibrox

St Johnstone were the last team to beat Rangers in the league. But any hope they might take from that experience may have dimmed after defeat against the Ibrox side in the Scottish Cup seven days ago at McDiarmid Park.

Michael Beale wasn’t in charge when Rangers left McDiarmid Park with zero points in November, which was coincidently their last defeat… During his reign he’s led the side to run of nine games unbeaten eight wins. With that comes momentum and a growing confidence.

St Johnstone’s last visit to Govan wasn’t a good one, as they lost 4-0. They looked to have turned the corner after a run of four wins and two draws starting in late October. However, they’ve lost their last six matches and those stats would tell you that they face an uphill task today at Ibrox.

Willie Miller
Former Aberdeen captain on BBC Sportsound

I'm surprised Jim Goodwin is still in a job, as are a lot of Aberdeen fans.

Cup upsets can happen on a bad pitch or with terrible weather, but there are no such excuses.

It's probably the biggest shock of the Scottish Cup and away form has been absolutely dreadful.

I think Jim is very lucky to get the nod from the board and he needs to turn it round very quickly.

It's either got to be a win today or at the very least a solid performance. The manager needs a reaction.

Stephen Robinson swaps two from the penalty shoot-out win over Dundee in the Scottish Cup last weekend.

Keanu Baccus misses out, suspended after picking up seven yellow cards in the season so far. Ethan Erhahon comes back into midfield alongside Greg Kiltie.

Declan Gallagher is only fit enough for the bench, alongside Jonah Ayunga. Alex Gogic is expected to move into the back three, dropping back from midfield.

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Motherwell's top scorer Kevin van Veen returns to the starting XI after an injury to last weekend's goalscorer Mikael Mandron. Ollie Crankshaw drops to the bench, replaced by Connor Shields.

New signing Riku Danzaki still awaiting clearance so misses out, with Lennon Miller out after picking up an injury in the reserve match.

Nathan McGinley, Jake Carroll, Bevis Mugabi and Joe Efford remain out with Paul McGinn starting at left-back.

Ross County manager Malky Mackay has given on-loan St Mirren striker Eamonn Brophy a start against Kilmarnock. There are two other changes for the Staggies - Jordan White comes off the bench to go in to the starting XI and Alex Iacovitti also starts. Kazeem Olaigbe, Owura Edwards and Jordy Hiwula drop out, only the latter to the bench.

Jordan Jones' reward for scoring the winner off the bench against Dumbarton in the Scottish Cup last week is a starting place for Kilmarnock. Derek McInnes will hope he can supply Kyle Vassell, the big striker coming in to the starting XI after being on the bench in the cup. Calum Waters comes in to the defence and Rory McKenzie returns to the midfield. Out go Daniel Armstrong, who is suspended, and Fraser Murray, while Kerr McInroy and Kyle Lafferty are on the bench.

With Ryan Porteous sold to Watford and Rocky Bushiri ruled out through injury, Hibs manager Lee Johnson pairs the experienced Paul Hanlon and on-loan Manchester United 19-year-old Will Fish in central defence.

After Kevin Nisbet's collapsed transfer move to Millwall, the Scotland striker only makes the bench, with Harry McKirdy handed his first home start.

Joe Newell is back in midfield after suspension, with Marijan Cabraja dropping to the bench after last weekend's derby defeat by Hearts.

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Under-pressure Aberdeen manager Jim Goodwin makes three changes, bringing back the experience of on-loan Wigan Athletic midfielder Graeme Shinnie and wing-back Jonny Hayes along with top scorer Bojan Miovski.

On-loan duo Hayden Coulson and Patrik Myslovic drop to the bench along with fellow midfielder Ryan Duncan, the 19-year-old perhaps unlucky considering he was the one bright spark in that famous Scottish Cup defeat by Darvel.

Rangers make two changes from the side which beat St Johnstone in the cup only last week.

Todd Cantwell comes straight in for a debut in place of Fashion Sakala, while Glen Kamara replaces John Lundstram in centre midfield.

Ianis Hagi makes his comeback after a year out with an ACL injury - the Romanian forward is on the bench.

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It's just one change for St Johnstone after doing a decent job against Rangers last time.

Nicky Clark comes in for Stevie May, having scored in the win against his old club earlier this season.

Ross County: Laidlaw, Watson, Baldwin, Iacovitti, Randall, Kenneh, Callachan, Harmon, Dhanda, White, Brophy.

Substitutes: Munro, Cancola, Sims, Loturi, Hiwula, Tillson, Samuel, Smith, Stones.

Kilmarnock: Hemming, Mayo, Taylor, Wright, Waters, McKenzie, Power, Polworth, Jones, Robinson, Vassell.

Substitutes: Walker, Sanders, Alebiosu, Alston, Lyons, McInroy, Donnelly, Doidge, Lafferty.

Rangers: McGregor, Tavernier, Goldson, Davies, Barisic, Kamara, Jack, Tillman, Cantwell, Kent, Morelos.

Substitutes: McLaughlin, Lundstram, Hagi, Colak, Sands, Wright, Sakala, Arfield, Devine.

St Johnstone: Matthews, Brown, Considine, Gordon, Montgomery, Phillips, MacPherson, Hallberg, Wright, McLennan, Clark.

Substitutes: Parish, Mitchell, Wotherspoon, O'Halloran, Carey, Bair, Crawford, Murphy, May.

St Mirren: Carson, Fraser, Gogic, Dunne, Strain, Kiltie, Erhahon, O'Hara, Tanser, Greive, Main

Substitutes: Urminsky, Gallagher, R Taylor, Kenny, Flynn, F Taylor, Offord, Jamieson, Ayunga.

Motherwell: Kelly, Johnston, Blaney, Lamie, McGinn, Goss, Slattery, Spittal, McKinstry, Shields, van Veen

Substitutes: Oxborough, O'Donnell, Crankshaw, Solholm, Cornelius, Tierney, Dunachie, Ross.

Hibernian: Marshall, Cadden, Hanlon, Fish, Stevenson, Newell, Campbell, Jeggo, McGeady, McKirdy, Youan.

Substitutes: M Johnson, Miller, Cabraja, Jair, Nisbet, Henderson, O MacIntyre, O'Connor, Laidlaw.

Aberdeen: Lewis, McCrorie, Scales, Stewart, Hayes, Clarkson, Shinnie, Ramadani, Kennedy, Miovski, Duk.

Substitutes: Ritchie, Barron, Myslovic, Watkins, Duncan, Polvara, Coulson, Roberts, Marshall.

It's back to Scottish Premiership business this weekend, with a few stand-out matches to look out for this afternoon.

The bottom two meet in Dingwall and Rangers can cut Celtic's lead to six points if they see off St Johnstone.

There's also a big one at Easter Road, where Hibs and Aberdeen go head-to-head against a backdrop of substantial discontent among supporters.

Let's crack on with the team news and build up...

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