Ross County find themselves in a familiar situation after finishing second from bottom in the Scottish Premiership for the third consecutive season.

They ended the regular season five points clear of relegated St Johnstone, but four points away from safety after winning nine, drawing 10 and losing 19 of their 38 league matches.

Don Cowie's side looked set to fall to a narrow defeat in Thursday's trip to Livingston until Ronan Hale netted a 96th-minute penalty to salvage a draw, ensuring that the Staggies have drawn each of their last three matches by a 1-1 scoreline.

While Ross County would have been relieved to avoid defeat, they will be concerned by the fact that they have now gone 10 matches without a win since beating Kilmarnock 1-0 at the start of March.

However, the Staggies have won their last two playoff games at the Global Energy Stadium, beating Partick Thistle 3-1 in 2023 on their way to winning on penalties following a 3-3 aggregate scoreline, before they swept past Raith Rovers by a 4-0 margin in last season's second leg to seal a 6-1 victory on aggregate.

With that said, Ross County may find it difficult to replicate the free-scoring nature of last year's win over Raith Rovers, having failed to score more than one goal in 10 of their previous 11 matches.

After finishing bottom of the Scottish Premiership last season, Livingston are just one game away from returning to the top flight at the first time of asking.

They won 20, drew 10 and lost six of their 36 league matches to finish in second place and just three points adrift of Scottish Championship winners Falkirk.

David Martindale's side made light work of their semi-final clash against fourth-placed Partick Thistle, recording 2-0 victories in both legs to ease through to the final.

Danny Wilson must have thought that he had secured a third consecutive win with his first-half effort in Thursday's home leg, only for Livingston to be denied a precious victory by a late equaliser, leaving the tie on a knife edge as they prepare to travel to the Global Energy Stadium for the second time this year.

Livingston enjoyed success in January's away clash against Ross County, taking the lead on three occasions to clinch a 3-2 extra-time victory in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup.

Incidentally, that result kick-started an impressive run of away form that has seen the Lions lose just once in 11 competitive road trips, including victories in each of their previous three away matches.

Ross County are unable to call upon Scott Allardice, Noah Chilvers, Ryan Leak, Andrew Macleod and Ross Laidlaw.

The defensive duo Kacper Lopata and James Brown are both doubts for the second leg after being absent from the last two matchday squads.

After playing the final half-an-hour of the first leg, forward Jordan White is pushing to net the nod over Alex Samuel to start alongside the in-form Hale, who is looking to score in a fourth consecutive game.

As for the visitors, Martindale could select the same lineup for the seventh consecutive game, as long as there are no fresh injury issues.

Wilson may have scored in the first leg, but his focus will be on his defensive duties when he resumes his centre-back partnership with Ryan McGowan, with the pair hoping to record a fifth clean sheet in seven matches.

At the opposite end of the pitch, Robbie Muirhead will continue to offer one of Livingston's main goal threats, having scored 18 times in 46 competitive matches this season.

Ross County possible starting lineup:

Amissah; Wright, Nightingale, Campbell; Efete, Kenneh, Randall, Ashworth; Nisbet; White, Hale

Livingston possible starting lineup:

Prior; Brandon, McGowan, Wilson, Fraser; Pittman, Tait, Kelly; Smith, Montano, Muirhead