Steady St Mirren welcome rising Ross County to Paisley on Saturday afternoon for what could be an intriguing Scottish Premiership clash.
The Saints have drawn their last four matches but are tightening their grip on a top-six finish, while County beat Celtic in their last outing.
Match preview
© Reuters
St Mirren manager Jim Goodwin has hailed his players for their resilience this week, after they grafted their way to an important point with a goalless draw at home to Motherwell on Wednesday.
Goodwin highlighted that two of his players, Jamie McGrath and Jake Doyle-Hayes, played through the pain barrier in the game.
Both players were surprise inclusions against the Steelmen, with them battling shoulder and foot injuries respectively.
Goodwin rated their fitness at around 80%, so he was delighted that both played their part in securing a point that put the Saints two points ahead of Dundee United and three ahead of St Johnstone.
It was the Buddies' fourth successive draw, however, and Goodwin will want his men to get three points on the board again this weekend when they welcome the Staggies to Renfrewshire.
Ross County manager John Hughes was understandably delighted with his team's 1-0 win at home to Celtic last Sunday.
Hughes felt that his team got their tactics just right, with Jordan White grabbing the Staggies' winning goal in the 71st minute.
County are still very much in a relegation battle, though, sitting in 10th place, just two points ahead of bottom-placed Hamilton Academical.
St Mirren Scottish Premiership form: WLDDDD
Ross County Scottish Premiership form:WLLWLW
Team News
© ReutersAfter playing through the pain barrier in midweek, it looks likely that Jamie McGrath and Jake Doyle-Hayes will keep their places in the St Mirren lineup.
Eamonn Brophy is out for the rest of the season with a fractured foot so Jonathan Obika looks set to lead the forward line once again for the Saints.
Iain Vigurs should return to the Staggies' lineup after being suspended for the win over Celtic.
Defenders Connor Randall (back) and Tom Grivosti (hamstring) look like being sidelined for the rest of the season.
St Mirren possible starting lineup:
Alnwick; Fraser, McCarthy, Shaughnessy; Tait, Doyle-Hayes, Erhahon, Durmus; MacPherson, McGrath; Obika
Ross County possible starting lineup:
Laidlaw; Naismith, Morris, Iacovitti, Tremarco; Spittal, Kelly, Lakin, Gardyne; Andreu; White
We say: St Mirren 1-0 Ross County
The Saints do not score many goals at the moment and struggle to win games, while County are sure to be confident after the win over the Celts.
Home advantage should be enough, though, for the Paisley Saints to take all three points in this game, but it is likely to be a tight encounter.
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 Mirren win with a probability of 45.24%. A win for Ross County had a probability of 28.29% and a draw had a probability of 26.5%.
The most likely scoreline for a St Mirren win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.71%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.98%) and 2-0 (8.38%). The likeliest Ross County win was 0-1 (8.79%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.55%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with an 11.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for St Mirren in this match.
