A key battle at the bottom end of the Scottish Premiership table will take place at McDiarmid Park on Wednesday, as St Johnstone entertain Aberdeen.
The visitors climbed up to eighth spot with an upturn in form before the winter break, moving three points clear of their 10th-placed hosts in the process.
Match preview
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St Johnstone return to league action on Wednesday aiming to put crucial distance between themselves and the relegation places in the Scottish Premiership, having endured a tough start to the campaign with just 19 points on the board from their opening 20 outings.
While they boast a commendable defensive record, with no side outside of the top four having conceded as few as the 27 goals they have shipped thus far, the Saints have struggled going forward, with only basement side Livingston having netted fewer than their 13 goals at the right end of the pitch.
Of their four victories thus far, their most recent three-point haul came in a 1-0 triumph at home to Hibernian, thanks to Graham Carey's goal around the hour mark, but they have only managed to add one point to their tally in the three attempts since, firstly suffering 2-0 and 2-1 defeats away at Rangers and Kilmarnock respectively in the run-up to Christmas.
Craig Levein's side then kicked off the new year with a trip to fellow strugglers Livingston and had to settle for a share of the spoils as neither side managed to break the deadlock, before they most recently returned from the winter break with a trip to second-tier Airdrieonians in the Scottish Cup fourth round and exited the competition in disappointing fashion following a 1-0 defeat.
Now with their focus fully on their Scottish Premiership survival bid, with just a one-point lead over Ross County in the relegation playoff place and a three-point gap up to Wednesday's opponents, St Johnstone will now set out to make a much-needed return to winning ways to move further clear of the bottom two.
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Aberdeen, meanwhile, will set out to further stretch the gap between the sides after giving their own survival bid a major boost around the festive period.
After their third-placed finish in the Scottish Premiership last time around, Aberdeen suffered a dismal start to the 2023-24 term, collecting just 13 points from their first 14 league matches while only winning three of those.
That left Barry Robson's side in a concerning position in the fight at the bottom end of the division, but they have since bounced back in eye-catching fashion, adding three more notches to that wins column in the last four attempts as they firstly ended a rut with a pair of 2-1 victories at home to Hearts and Livingston before Christmas, as Leighton Clarkson netted an injury-time winner in the former and Bojan Miovski settled the latter with a brace.
After rounding off 2023 at home to St Mirren and suffering a concerning 3-0 beating, Robson's side would quickly bounce back in the new year with a triumph by the same scoreline away at Ross County, thanks to Jamie McGrath's first-half brace and a Miovski goal, before most returning to action at the weekend with a 2-0 triumph over Clyde to reach the Scottish Cup round of 16 with Miovski again on the scoresheet alongside Nicky Devlin.
Having quickly put their poor start behind them to climb to eighth spot with just a three-point gap up to sixth-placed Hibernian and two games in hand, Aberdeen will be desperate to continue their improvement on Wednesday and climb further up the Premiership table.
Team News
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After making rotations for their Scottish Cup tie at the weekend, Craig Levein should revert to a full-strength St Johnstone starting XI on Wednesday, with Sam McClelland, Ali Crawford and Drey Wright likely remaining the only enforced absentees through injury.
Nicky Clark will continue to play a key role in attack, having notched up four goals in just six Scottish Premiership appearances in an injury-hit campaign, with the likes of Benjamin Kimpioka and Stevie May fighting to join him.
Daniel Phillips will likely return from the start to join Matt Smith in the engine room, while Andy Considine, Liam Gordon and Ryan McGowan are bound to line up in a back three.
Aberdeen travelled to Clyde with a full-strength starting XI on Friday, and Barry Robson is unlikely to make many changes to his side in their 4-2-3-1 shape, with Bojan Miovski bound to again lead the line having taken his tally to 16 goals for the season in all competitions with five goals in his last six appearances.
He should again have support from the trio of Dante Polvara, Leighton Clarkson and Jamie McGrath, who has also enjoyed an impressive campaign with seven goals to his name, although Duk is also vying to come back into the attacking setup from the outset after settling for substitute appearances in recent weeks.
Behind them, Connor Barron should again get the nod to join mainstay Graeme Shinnie in the engine room, while Nicky Devlin, Slobodan Rubezic, Stefan Gartenmann and Jack McKenzie will line up in an unaltered back four after seeing out back-to-back clean sheets.
St Johnstone possible starting lineup:
Mitov; McGowan, Gordon, Considine; Franczak, Smith, Phillips, Gallacher; Carey, May, Clark
Aberdeen possible starting lineup:
Roos; Devlin, Rubezic, Gartenmann, McKenzie; Shinnie, Barron; Clarkson, Polvara, McGrath; Miovski
We say: St Johnstone 0-2 Aberdeen
St Johnstone are devoid of any real confidence in the midst of a difficult campaign, while Aberdeen finally appear to be showing their quality and kicking into gear, and we fancy them to continue their improved run and take all three points on Wednesday.
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Top tip
Sam Varley
