Relegation-threatened St Johnstone welcome top-four hopefuls Motherwell to McDiarmid Park for a Scottish Premiership clash on Saturday afternoon.
The Steelmen will be seeking revenge against a Saints outfit who won this exact fixture 1-0 in the fourth round of the Scottish Cup last weekend.
Match preview
© Imago
St Johnstone were understandably down in the dumps following a miserable nine-game winless run in the Scottish Premiership, including seven defeats and two draws, but they gave their supporters something to cheer about last weekend.
Indeed, Makenzie Kirk's ninth-minute strike proved to be the match-winner against Motherwell and fired the Saints into the fifth round of the Scottish Cup for the first time since they went all the way to win the competition in 2021.
That victory represents just the fourth in 17 matches for St Johnstone under the tutelage of Simo Valakari, who will now put his team's favourable fifth-round tie with Hamilton Academical to one side as the Scottish Premiership's basement club shift their focus back to their battle to avoid relegation - currently sitting nine points adrift of safety.
St Johnstone, who last went 10 league games without a win in January 2022 under former boss Callum Davidson, head into Saturday's contest having lost both of their last two league meetings with Motherwell (both 2-1 this season), last losing three in a row against them in the top flight in April 2012.
Motherwell will fancy their chances of further success at McDiarmid Park, as they have not lost any of their last five league visits to St Johnstone (W2 D3) and they could claim victory in consecutive trips for the first time since November 2012 under Stuart McCall if they come out on top this weekend.
The Steelmen's form had dipped in recent weeks, though, with just one win recorded in their last eight games across all competitions (D3 L4), while they have also won just one of their last seven away league outings (D1 L5) - a 1-0 victory at St Mirren on December 7.
Stuart Kettlewell is keen to see his Motherwell side return to winning ways before they play host to leaders Celtic at the beginning of next month, while a victory would also boost their hopes of securing at least a top-four finish and European qualification for next season.
Indeed, Motherwell currently sit fifth in the top-flight standings, just two points above Hibernian in sixth and four points behind and out-of-form Aberdeen side in fourth spot with 10 games of the regular season still to play.
Team News
![Stuart Kettlewell file photo of Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell, who is looking to tie down the majority of his squad before pre-season as he revealed every player knows where they stand ahead of Sunday s final game - 22/04/2023 [on July 26, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/30/stuart-kettlewell_1.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Stuart Kettlewell file photo of Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell, who is looking to tie down the majority of his squad before pre-season as he revealed every player knows where they stand ahead of Sunday s final game - 22/04/2023 [on July 26, 2024]")
© Imago
St Johnstone are set to be without Uche Ikpeazu and Sam McClelland due to injury, although the Saints duo are closing in on a return to first-team action.
New signings Victor Griffith and Sam Curtis were both handed their debuts last weekend and could retain their places in a five-man midfield alongside Sven Sprangler, Jason Holt and Graham Carey, while Andre Raymond will be pushing to return at left-back at the expense of Barry Douglas.
Makenzie Kirk has scored five goals in his last nine appearances and may have done enough to lead the line again ahead of top scorer Benjamin Kimpioka, who has 11 goals to his name in all competitions this term.
As for Motherwell, captain Paul McGinn is facing around four months on the sidelines, essentially ruling him out for the rest of the season, after sustaining a thigh injury against Hibernian a fortnight ago.
The defender will be joined in the treatment room by Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, Lennon Miller, Ross Callachan, Steve Seddon and Zach Robinson, while Jack Vale is suspended for this weekend's fixture.
Dan Casey is set to continue in a three-man defence with Kofi Balmer and Shane Blaney, while Stephen O'Donnell, Tom Sparrow and Tony Watt will all be hoping to force their way back into the first XI after beginning as substitutes last time out.
St Johnstone possible starting lineup:
Fisher; Wright, Sanders, Mikulic, Raymond; Curtis, Sprangler, Griffith, Holt; Carey; Kirk
Motherwell possible starting lineup:
Mair; Balmer, Casey, Blaney; O'Donnell, Andrews, Halliday, Wilson; Sparrow, Maswanhise; Watt
We say: St Johnstone 1-1 Motherwell
St Johnstone can ill-afford to drop to many more points if they wish to avoid relegation this season, but whether they can replicate their resolute performance from last week remains to be seen. With Kettlewell seeking a response from his Motherwell players, we are backing the visitors to claim at least a share of the spoils this time around.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
