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St Johnstone logo
Scottish Premiership | Gameweek 29
Mar 2, 2024 at 3pm UK
McDiarmid Park
Livingston logo

St Johnstone
1 - 1
Livingston

Clark (87')
Robinson (31'), Sprangler (40')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Shinnie (37')
Montano (68'), Guthrie (90+7')

Preview: St Johnstone vs. Livingston - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Scottish Premiership clash between St Johnstone and Livingston, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

It will be a crucial match between two teams at the bottom of the Scottish Premiership on Saturday as St Johnstone host Livingston.

The Lions are 11 points adrift of safety at the moment, with this fixture providing them the chance to close that gap, while the hosts in 10th place will look to push themselves further away from the relegation zone.


Match preview

St Johnstone's Liam Gordon in action with Rangers' Fabio Silva on February 18, 2024© Reuters

St Johnstone ended their four-match losing streak in midweek by picking up an important three points against Aberdeen, which helped them to move further away from the bottom two.

Goals from Nicky Clark and Benjamin Mbunga-Kimpioka proved to be enough to dispatch the Dons as they kept a clean sheet in the process for the second time this month.

The victory extended their gap above the relegation zone to four points, and more importantly an 11-point difference has been created between themselves and Livingston, which they will attempt to increase this weekend.

The Saints have been stronger in home fixtures throughout this season, picking up four of their six victories in the Scottish Premiership, and that should inject some confidence into the team.

However, St Johnstone have failed to defeat Livingston in their two previous meetings this season which does put a lot more pressure on them this time around.

Livingston manager David Martindale on August 12, 2023© Reuters

Both of their matches to this point have finished as a draw, and while that should provide some confidence to the visitors, they will be pushing for more than just a point.

Livingston desperately need points to try and close the gap to those above them as they continue to prop up the table in what has proven to be a season to forget.

The Lions were unable to follow up their victory against St Mirren, and instead head into this fixture on the back of consecutive defeats, conceding three goals in each game.

While David Martindale's men pushed Ross County to a five-goal thriller, the same cannot be said for their most recent outing where they were comfortably beaten 3-1 by Motherwell.

The defeat was a frustrating one considering Tete Yengi had given them the lead in the third minute, therefore concentration and defensive improvement will be key this weekend.

St Johnstone Scottish Premiership form:

Livingston Scottish Premiership form:


Livingston form (all competitions):



Team News

Livingston manager David Martindale pictured in February 2021© Reuters

Following a 2-0 win in midweek, it is unlikely that Craig Levein will make any alterations to the St Johnstone starting lineup as he aims to follow up on that positive result.

The Saints boss had made five changes for the game against Aberdeen, bringing in Ryan McGowan, David Keltjens, Sven Sprangler, Diallang Jaiyesimi and Mbunga-Kimpioka, and their positive impacts should allow them to retain their places.

Yengi will lead the line for the visitors, with his recent goalscoring antics helping the Lions cause problems from an offensive perspective.

Jason Holt has been at the heart of the Livingston midfield lately, and his box-to-box style is going to be key this weekend.


St Johnstone possible starting lineup:
Mitov; Keltjens, McGowan, Gordon, Robinson; Phillips, Sprangler, Smith, Clark, Jaiyesimi; Kimpioka

Livingston possible starting lineup:
George; Brandon, Nottingham, Obileye, Sangare; Carson, Holt, Nouble, Anderson, Mackay; Yengi



SM words green background

We say: St Johnstone 3-0 Livingston

This is a classic 'six-pointer' due to how close the two teams are in the league table and the fact that time is running out for both sides to secure their Scottish Premiership status for next season.

St Johnstone will be the favourites as they have the home advantage and have been a stronger team throughout the season, and that should be enough to see them dispatch Livingston.


For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.




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Written by
Matthew Wilkinson

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Game History

How you voted: St Johnstone vs Livingston

St Johnstone
44.4%
Draw
55.6%
Livingston
0.0%
9
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Celtic1514104444043
2Aberdeen16104230181234
3RangersRangers1510232791832
4Motherwell168172226-425
5Dundee UnitedDundee Utd166642519624
6St Mirren176382228-621
7Dundee165472729-219
8Kilmarnock174581834-1617
9Hibernian173682129-815
10Ross County173681333-2015
11St Johnstone1742112032-1214
12Hearts1734101826-813


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