Brechin vs Ross County Predictions

Premiership newcomers Ross County will travel to Angus where they’ll be hosted by Brechin City at Glebe Park. Can Brechin take the 3 points?

Brechin City had an awful 2018/2019 season, as the club were unable to avoid the inevitable when they finished rock-bottom in League One. The City did manage to rack up a respectable tally of 36 points, but it wasn’t enough for them to survive, as Stranraer finished in 8^th place and 6 points ahead of Brechin.

The City face a tough test now in the hope that they can bounce back and return as soon as possible to League One. Manager Barry Smith, who was appointed back in November, will be the one to guide the club to try and do just that. However, their pre-season preparations haven’t gone according to plan, with Brechin losing all 3 of their friendlies to Dundee, Dundee United and Falkirk. Moreover, the club played its first game in the Scottish League Cup group stage, also suffering another defeat at the hands of Forfar Athletic.

In stark contrast to their next opponents, Ross County had a fantastic season. The club gained automatic promotion to the Premiership after finishing 1^st in the division below, returning to the top flight after just one single season in the Championship.

The Staggies finished top with an impressive 71 points, 6 in front of Dundee United who lacked conviction in the final games of the competition. Striker Billy McKay played a key role at the club, as his 17 league goals helped solidify the club’s promotion hopes.

Co-managers Stuart Kettlewell and Steven Ferguson have continued to guide the club through pre-season, with the Staggies leaving behind some memorable performances. They beat Nairn County 3-0 before going on to destroy Forres Mechanics 11-0, but Ross County were brought back down to Earth as they were humbled by Groningen.

Brechin City’s main focus for this season will almost certainly be the league, as they’ll be eager to try and gain promotion in the quickest way possible. The City may even use these group stage games as competitive friendlies, that would allow them to toughen up. Ross County will want to qualify for the next round as they are more capable than their opponents of making it further in the competition. With this motivation in mind and the huge gap in quality, we’re going to back the Staggies to score over 3.5 goals and a final result of 4-0.