Two of the Scottish Premiership's strugglers will do battle on Saturday, as St Johnstone entertain Ross County.
The hosts find themselves two points above their opponents after a second win of the season last time out, with the visitors on just four points from six outings.
Match preview
© Reuters
After only surviving the drop with a victory in the relegation playoff last season, St Johnstone set out for a more secure campaign in the Scottish Premiership this time around, and after an opening-day defeat to Hibernian, they were able to put their first points on the board with a 2-1 win at Motherwell.
Hoping to build on that and establish a run of results in the early stages of the season, Callum Davidson's side faced the unenviable task of a trip to Ibrox to take on Rangers, and they were comprehensively beaten as Malik Tillman, Antonio Colak, Scott Arfield and Tom Lawrence all got on the scoresheet in a 4-0 home win.
The Saints then took on Aberdeen and Hearts and failed to bounce back and add to their points tally, losing 1-0 and 3-2 respectively as Lawrence Shankland snatched the win for their opponents in the latter, leaving Davidson's men on three points from five outings as a result.
Looking to break the three-game losing run, they most recently took on St Mirren at the beginning of September and went ahead through Nicky Clark, before Drey Wright doubled the lead soon after the hour mark and Graham Carey wrapped up an important 3-0 win by converting a late penalty.
With last weekend's trip to Kilmarnock postponed along with the rest of Scotland's top flight following Queen Elizabeth II's passing, the Saints will now return to action after two weeks looking to make it back-to-back wins and put three more crucial points on the board against one of the sides below them in the division.
© Reuters
Ross County arrive looking to bridge the gap to their hosts, having only managed four points in their six outings thus far.
Malky Mackay's side faced a tough start to the term, beginning with contests against Hearts and Celtic, and they suffered defeats in both before seeing their wait for a first point extended with a 1-0 defeat at the hands of St Mirren.
A home contest against Kilmarnock did then produce the Staggies' first victory, as it looked set to end goalless until Owura Edwards popped up with an 86th-minute winner to snatch all three points, but they were unable to follow that up with a run of results, firstly losing 4-0 to Rangers at Ibrox before being dumped out of the Scottish Cup by Celtic.
There was again late drama in their most recent outing, a home game against Aberdeen two weeks ago, as their visitors broke the deadlock in the 88th minute, only for William Akio to snatch a point for Mackay's team five minutes into added time with a leveller.
Now having also had a break from action, the Staggies will be desperate to score an away win at the weekend to leapfrog their hosts and avoid being cut adrift at this early stage of the campaign.
- L
- W
- L
- L
- L
- W
- L
- L
- L
- W
- L
- D
Team News
© Reuters
After their eye-catching 3-0 victory last time out, St Johnstone could come into the weekend with an unchanged team, as Christopher Kane, Callum Booth, Cameron MacPherson, Tony Gallacher and David Wotherspoon are again unlikely to be in contention due to injures.
Having opened his account for the season in that game, Nicky Clark will again take a place in the front three, with Jamie Murphy also set to stay in on the opposite side of Stevie May.
Scottish veteran Andy Considine continues to play an important role in the back three also containing Alex Mitchell and Ryan McGowan in front of Crystal Palace loanee Remi Matthews between the sticks.
Ross County attacker William Akio will be pushing for a start on Saturday after he came off the bench to net the last-gasp equaliser against Aberdeen.
He faces stiff competition, though, with the likes of Jordy Hiwula, Jordan Tillson, Owura Edwards and Jordan White all having strong claims for places up front, with summer arrival Yan Dhanda also set to operate in an attacking midfield role.
Captain Jack Baldwin will again play alongside Alex Iacovitti in the middle of a back four, while Ross Callachan should join David Cancola at the base of the midfield.
St Johnstone possible starting lineup:
Matthews; Mitchell, Considine, McGowan; Wright, Hallberg, Carey, Montgomery; Clark, May, Murphy
Ross County possible starting lineup:
Laidlaw; Johnson, Iacovitti, Baldwin, Purrington; Callachan, Cancola; Edwards, Dhanda, Hiwula; White
We say: St Johnstone 2-1 Ross County
We put these two sides on a relatively level playing field and both will see the game as a good chance to put crucial points on the board.
With home advantage and confidence from their victory last time out, we just lean towards St Johnstone and envisage Davidson's side scraping through.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
