St Johnstone will be aiming to climb above Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership table by beating them on Saturday.
The visitors are one point ahead of their opponents prior to the meeting at McDiarmid Park, with Ross County a further point back inside the relegation zone.
Match preview
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Having remained in the Scottish Premiership ever since returning to Scotland's top flight in 2009, St Johnstone will be determined to avoid relegation to the second tier. After making a difficult start to the season, the Saints' hierarchy turned to former Scotland boss Craig Levein last November in an attempt to steady the ship.
However, results have slipped in recent weeks, with St Johnstone only collecting two points from their last four matches. Their 1-1 draw at home against Aberdeen on Wednesday moved them one point clear of Ross County, who possess a game in hand in the first relegation spot.
The hosts had trailed to Bojan Miovski's second-half penalty, but David Keltjens rescued a precious point for his side. Levein admitted in his post-match interview that he had been close to substituting the Israel forward, so there was a huge feeling of relief within the dressing room.
St Johnstone won a historic cup double in the 2020-21 campaign, but that will not be replicated this time around after their surprise 1-0 defeat away to Airdrieonians last weekend. As such, their sole focus will now be on surviving, with their meeting against Motherwell on Saturday representing a crucial six-pointer.
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Indeed, Motherwell have enjoyed a far longer spell in Scotland's top division, having remained there ever since winning Division One in 1985. As such, if they can survive relegation this season, they will celebrate 40 unbroken years in the top flight next year.
As a result, there is major pressure on Stuart Kettlewell's shoulders to ensure that the Steelmen do not succumb to a dreaded fate in May. Only Rangers have managed to beat Kettlewell's side in their last five league games, suggesting that they are on the right track of improvement.
Motherwell defeated Alloa Athletic 3-1 in the FA Cup last weekend, with Blair Spittal bagging a brace either side of Georgie Gent's strike on the hour mark. They have not played in the league since claiming a solid 2-2 draw away to Hibernian on January 2.
With only two points separating themselves and Ross County - who possess two games in hand on them - inside the relegation places, they will be desperate to avoid defeat at worst on Saturday, otherwise they could find themselves dropping beneath the dreaded dotted lines.
Team News
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St Johnstone are expected to remain without Sam McClelland, Drey Wright and Alistair Crawford due to injury, with the trio expected to return to first-team duties in early February. Ross Sinclair and Cammy MacPherson are likely to be out for much longer with shoulder and hamstring issues respectively.
Levein may be slightly concerned regarding potential fatigue among his players having only played on Wednesday evening, but he may resist rotating after they put in a decent performance during their draw against Aberdeen.
Motherwell, meanwhile, will travel without Dan Casey, Sam Nicholson and Callum Slattery. Casey is still facing a few more weeks out due to an ankle injury, while Slattery and Nicholson are both sidelined for the rest of the season due to knee issues.
Kettlewell could recall Lennon Miller to his starting XI after only using the midfielder from the bench against Alloa, but otherwise he is unlikely to make many changes after comfortably swatting aside their third tier opponents last weekend.
St Johnstone possible starting lineup:
Mitov; McGowan, Gordon, Considine; Keltjens, Phillips, Sprangler, Robinson; Smith, Carey; Jaiyesimi
Motherwell possible starting lineup:
Kelly; O'Donnell, McGinn, Mugabi, Butcher, Gent; Zdravkovski, Miller, Montgomery; Bair, Spittal
We say: St Johnstone 1-1 Motherwell
There is little to split these two sides, who have suffered a slight downturn in results across the past 18 months. St Johnstone were spirited when claiming a draw against Aberdeen in midweek, while Motherwell have slightly improved of late.
As such, with Ross County unlikely to gain anything away to Celtic in a simultaneous fixture, both sides may settle for moving one point clear of their relegation rivals by sharing the spoils.
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Brett Curtis
