Raith Rovers v Ross County: Prediction, Tips and Odds

Stark’s Park is preparing for a huge night as Raith Rovers host Ross County in the Scottish Premiership play-off final first leg on Thursday.

Rovers are desperate to end a 27-year wait to return to the Premiership and, after beating Partick Thistle in the play-off semi-finals, they are two games away from reaching the top flight.

With the second leg taking place in Dingwall on Sunday lunchtime, Rovers will be doing all they can to make sure they still have a chance of promotion when they head to the Highlands.

Raith Rovers v Ross County betting tips and predictions

Draw and both teams to score - 3/1

Failing to beat 10-man Aberdeen on the final day of the season proved costly, as Ross County finished in the relegation play-off place, while St Johnstone’s 2-1 win at Motherwell saw the Perth outfit safe for another year.

Having beaten Rangers in mid-April, the Staggies only managed to win one of their following five games in the Premiership and it has proven costly for boss Don Cowie and his players.

Still, the Dingwall outfit do have a chance to save themselves from a drop down to the Scottish Championship as they head to Kirkcaldy to face Rovers.

County make the trip to Fife on the back of two draws against St Johnstone and Aberdeen and another scoring stalemate might well be on the cards on Thursday night.

Play-off first legs tend to be cagey affairs, with neither side likely to chance their arm before the second leg.

Just looking south of the border for a moment as an example, both Championship play-off semi-final first legs ended in goalless draws at Elland Road and The Hawthorns.

Fortunately, there might well be more goal action in this first leg at Stark’s Park, with the selection here a draw with both teams scoring.

Ross County have not kept a clean sheet in their last 24 games in all competitions, while Rovers were unable to keep Partick off the scoresheet in either of their play-off semi-final legs.

Both teams might well find the back of the net here and a draw would not be the worst result for either side ahead of the second leg at the Global Energy Stadium on Sunday.

Lewis Vaughan anytime goalscorer - 13/8

Looking at the anytime goalscorer market, Lewis Vaughan catches the eye as the Raith Rovers top scorer this season.

With 15 goals in the Championship this term, the 28-year-old has been the main attacking threat for the Kirkcaldy side.

Vaughan has been in good recent form to boot, scoring four goals in Rovers' last five games.

With that in mind, and considering the Staggies’ less-than-watertight defence over recent months, Vaughan looks to be good value at 13/8 to find the back of the net in this first leg.

Jordan White to be booked - 13/8

No player has been shown more yellow cards for Ross County in the Premiership this season than Jordan White.

With nine yellow cards already to his name, White has been booked in the last two games for County against both St Johnstone and Aberdeen.

Given White’s recent spate of cautions, the 13/8 on offer looks to be a good price for the 32-year-old forward to find his way into the referee’s book for the third consecutive game on Thursday night.

Read more football betting tips and predictions on site.

Raith Rovers v Ross County odds

Raith Rovers - 8/5
Draw - 9/4
Ross County - 17/10

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.