St Johnstone will aim to seal progress into the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup when they welcome League One outfit Clyde to McDiarmid Park on Saturday evening.
The Premiership outfit scraped a 1-0 win at Dundee to seal progress into the next round, while Clyde's journey in the cup continued with a 1-0 win over Ayr United last time out.
Match preview
© Reuters
Having managed to seal a spot in the top six of the Scottish Premiership, St Johnstone played host to Aberdeen aiming to keep their stellar run of form going, but Callum Davidson's side lost for the first time in six matches as they succumbed to a 1-0 defeat on the night.
A 52nd-minute winner from John Hayes was all that could separate the two sides on the day as St Johnstone's two-game winning run at home was quickly nipped in the bud, but they have a prime opportunity to return to winning ways in the cup as they hope to ease into the last eight of the tournament.
Defeat to Aberdeen signalled the end of a six-game unbeaten run for St Johnstone - during which time they won five across all competitions - but the manner of their cup triumph over Dundee was far from dominant, as a 20th-minute winner from Guy Melamed proved decisive against the Championship outfit.
Davidson would dearly love to add a Scottish Cup success to his CV after witnessing his team go all the way in the League Cup earlier this season, although they have been sent packing at this stage three times in the past four seasons and cannot afford to underestimate their upcoming opponents, in spite of their recent downturn in fortunes.
Clyde have navigated cup tests with Keith and Ayr United without shipping a goal, but the League One outfit could not get the better of fellow strugglers Dumbarton in the third tier on Thursday, as Nat Wedderburn headed home for the game's only goal in the 45th minute.
This week's visitors have now lost three on the bounce in the league, although that was somewhat expected given the fact that they have played three matches since April 10, and their fatigued legs will be shown no mercy at McDiarmid Park.
Danny Lennon has been quick to bemoan the quick turnaround in fixtures during his side's woeful spell, and understandably so, given the fact that his side must take on a Premiership outfit only 48 hours after an unsuccessful outing in the third tier.
The 2020-21 tournament marks the third time in five seasons that Clyde have managed to progress to the last 16, although they have never made it past this stage in that time and were sent packing by Celtic last season.
St Johnstone and Clyde have not locked horns since both teams plied their trade in the Championship during the mid to late 2000s, and the hosts won their last two fixtures against Clyde in the 2008-09 season before they renew hostilities in the cup.
- W
- W
- D
- W
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
- W
- D
- W
- L
- L
- L
Team News
© Reuters
St Johnstone only have Murray Davidson and his sore calf to worry about on the injury front, while Craig Conway is fit and raring to go despite taking a recent knock to the face.
However, manager Davidson has hinted that changes could be on the way for this game, and he has urged particular caution over Ali McCann and David Wotherspoon due to their international exploits.
Wotherspoon, Stevie May and round-of-32 hero Melamed were all named among the replacements against Aberdeen, so all three are in with a chance of starting in the cup.
Clyde manager Lennon will certainly rotate his resources during a gruelling period of football, as he has less than two days to reassess his side's situation and fitness levels before the trip to St Johnstone.
Barry Cuddihy struck the game's only goal against Ayr United in the last-32 stage, but he was one of the players who lasted the full 90 on Thursday and could potentially be replaced by Zac Butterworth.
Jack Thomson and Lloyd Robertson could provide some fresh legs in the engine room, while 12-goal David Goodwillie will hope to be given the chance to impact the game at some stage.
St Johnstone possible starting lineup:
Clark; McCart, Gordon, Kerr; Brown, McCann, Gilmour, Tanser; Wotherspoon; May, Melamed
Clyde possible starting lineup:
Wilson; Bain, McNiff, Lang, Love; Nicoll, Robertson; Butterworth, Thomson, Ritchie-Hosler; Goodwillie
We say: St Johnstone 3-0 Clyde
Clyde's three successive losses hardly comes as a surprise given the unrelenting fixture schedule they are having to put up with, and a well-rested St Johnstone will aim to take full advantage of their opponents' predicament on Saturday - this should be a routine win for Davidson's men en route to a clash with Rangers or Celtic in the last eight.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a St Johnstone win with a probability of 61.02%. A draw had a probability of 23.4% and a win for Clyde had a probability of 15.56%.
The most likely scoreline for a St Johnstone win was 1-0 with a probability of 14.84%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (12.74%) and 2-1 (9.32%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.85%), while for a Clyde win it was 0-1 (6.32%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 12.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that St Johnstone would win this match.
