Manager’s pre-match thoughts: Ross County (A)

Derek McInnes is confident that naming an unchanged XI against Ross County will be the right call.

With no changes to the starting lineup from the victory over Rangers, the boss is hoping it will be the right team to secure Killie’s first victory in Dingwall for over seven years.

Ahead of the match he said: “Every team offers you a different challenge. But I think the level of performance last week was good.

“The way we defended and we carried a threat. There’s a lot of players I thought had their best game of the season last week. And I think you’ve got to look at it in the context of the opponent.

“But at the same time, it’s probably a team that I had in mind. Looking at Ross County’s team, I thought we could play the same team and that’s what we worked on from early on in the week.

On County, McInnes said: “It’s a different type of challenge today, that’s what the Premiership is, it’s different types of challenges. Some games are harder than others, and this is hard because it’s a different type of test, it’s a different type of game.

“We still need to be resolute and solid defensively, and in possession and try and not give Ross County too much encouragement, because they are a team who, although they’ve not always had the results this season, I think they’ve always been competitive in the games.

“And we see that particularly at home, we understand it’s a tough game for us today, but equally I want Ross County to believe that they’re going to get a tough game and it’s important we show that.”