St Mirren will welcome Ross County to Paisley for their third Scottish Premiership fixture of the new season on Saturday.

Both sides are yet to claim any points from their opening two matches and have conceded five goals each in two successive defeats.

Match preview

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After suffering a slender 1-0 home defeat against Motherwell on the opening weekend, St Mirren were beaten 4-1 with 10 men away at Aberdeen last Saturday.

The Buddies faced an uphill task when former Dons defender Declan Gallagher was sent off in the 22nd minute for two bookable offences.

The hosts then raced into a three-goal lead before half time, and although Jonah Ayunga pulled one back from the penalty spot eight minutes after the break, Jim Goodwin eventually got the better of his former side who added a fourth in the closing stages.

Stephen Robinson is yet to make his mark at St Mirren since replacing Goodwin as head coach in February, as he has won only five of his 19 competitive games across all competitions.

The Buddies do have an impressive record against Saturday's opponents Ross County, however, as they have only lost one of their last eight home meetings against them, winning four and drawing the other three.

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Ross County followed up their opening-weekend defeat away at Hearts with a 3-1 loss at home to reigning Premiership champions Celtic last Saturday.

A header just before the hour mark from Alex Iacovitti restored parity for the hosts after Kyogo Furuhashi had put the Hoops in front, but goals in the final six minutes from Moritz Jenz and Liel Abada helped Ange Postecoglou's men secure all three points in Dingwall.

Malky Mackay was pleased with his side's performance despite defeat, but will now be looking to get points on the board in the coming weeks in fixtures against St Mirren and newly-promoted Kilmarnock.

Ross County have now lost each of their last five Premiership matches, including their final three games of last season, but they have had more joy in the Scottish League Cup this term as they won all four of their group fixtures, scoring 11 goals in the process.

After beating St Mirren 1-0 in March, the Staggies will be looking to claim back-to-back Premiership wins against the Buddies for the first time since 2013 when they lock horns on Saturday.

Team News

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St Mirren midfielder Mark O'Hara is ruled out with a head injury, while left-back Scott Tanser will be assessed ahead of kickoff after sustaining a muscle problem.

Centre-back Gallagher is suspended following his red card last weekend, with either Ryan Strain or Marcus Fraser potentially dropping into the back three alongside Joe Shaughnessy and Charles Dunne as a result.

Curtis Main and Jonah Ayunga were given the nod to start up front last weekend, but Alex Greive and Eamonn Brophy will be pushing to start in attack on Saturday.

As for Ross County, attackers Alex Samuel and William Akio both remain sidelined, with the former continuing his recovery from a cruciate knee ligament injury which he sustained in February.

Right-back Connor Randall is also set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after fracturing a bone in his leg in the defeat to Celtic last weekend.

Jordy Hiwula is expected to lead the line again, although Jordan White will be hoping to force his way into the first XI.

Midfield quartet Jordan Tillson, Ross Callachan, David Cancola and Ben Paton all started against Celtic and they are set to retain their places this weekend.

St Mirren possible starting lineup:
Carson; Fraser, Shaughnessy, Dunne; Strain, Baccus, Erhahon, Tait; Kiltie; Ayunga, Greive

Ross County possible starting lineup:
Laidlaw; Johnson, Baldwin, Iacovitti, Purrington; Tillson, Callachan, Cancola, Paton; Samuel; Hiwula

We say: St Mirren 1-1 Ross County

Both St Mirren and Ross County will view Saturday's fixture as a good opportunity to register their first victory of the new campaign.

However, with little to separate the two sides, a score draw could be on the cards at the SMiSA Stadium.

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

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