Now sitting five points adrift at the foot of the Scottish Premiership table with three games to go, Dundee will look to keep their faint survival hopes alive on Saturday, when they travel to take on St Mirren.

A defeat last weekend saw the visitors remain five points off the relegation playoff place, while their hosts need just two points to confirm their survival, even if St Johnstone in the playoff place do not slip up.

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On the back of three straight defeats to round off the first phase of the league campaign, leaving them on 36 points from 33 games, St Mirren dropped into the relegation group, albeit with a six-point cushion over the bottom two.

A 1-0 defeat to Hibernian at the start of the second stage did not help the Buddies' cause before they went into a crucial meeting with St Johnstone, who had reduced the gap to five points.

Stephen Robinson's side headed into the contest aiming to increase their cushion, and they managed to do so as Greg Kiltie hit the only goal of the game in the second half to ensure his side took all three points.

As a result, St Mirren now find themselves eight points clear of the relegation playoff place with just three games to play, meaning a win on Saturday or a mistake from St Johnstone would see their survival confirmed.

Their visitors arrive in a far more desperate situation, having almost exclusively sat at the foot of the table since mid-January.

Four draws from their last five games of the first phase may have given the Dee a degree of hope before they kicked off life in the relegation group with a crucial meeting against St Johnstone, but they were unable to make their lead count.

A victory would have seen the gap to the relegation playoff place reduced to just two points, and they led through Jordan Marshall, only for Shaun Rooney to equalise in the second half, meaning Dundee did not gain any new ground.

Following a 1-0 defeat to Aberdeen last time out, Mark McGhee's side sit five points adrift with just three games left to play, meaning they almost certainly require at least two wins to stand a chance of being able to fight for their top-flight status in a playoff.

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St Mirren will remain without defender Matthew Millar, who continues to battle through an injury.

Robinson is unlikely to make many changes after their important victory last time out, with Curtis Main again set to lead the line, while Connor Ronan and Alex Gogic should keep their places in the engine room of the 3-4-1-2 system.

Upon his return to the starting XI, Greg Kiltie netted the decisive goal against St Johnstone, and he will continue to operate behind the front two.

Danny Mullen will continue to lead the Dundee attack, having been somewhat of a shining light in their poor campaign as he hit seven goals in 21 league appearances in the first phase of the season.

He was flanked by Paul McMullan and Northern Ireland veteran Niall McGinn last time out, with Paul McGowan offering further attacking threat from a deeper central role.

Further back, former Liverpool midfielder Charlie Adam should keep his place in the centre alongside Max Anderson.

St Mirren possible starting lineup:
Alnwick; Fraser, Shaughnessy, McCarthy; Tait, Ronan, Gogic, Tanser; Kiltie; Main, Greive

Dundee possible starting lineup:
Sharp; Kerr, McGhee, Sweeney, Marshall; Anderson, Adam; McMullan, McGowan, McGinn; Mullen

We say: St Mirren 2-1 Dundee

It seems to be now or never for Dundee, who are fighting for their lives with just three games to go, but we anticipate them falling short on Saturday.

The Dee are without a league win since early February, while the hosts will be boosted by their victory last time out and will aim to confirm their automatic survival with a second straight three-point haul.

Written by
Sam Varley

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