St Johnstone are set to welcome Livingston in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday, with the hosts currently on a six-game unbeaten run, having picked up a 1-1 draw against Celtic in their latest league fixture.
Livingston, meanwhile, will also be in high spirits heading into this game, after beating Dundee United 2-0 last weekend.
Match preview
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St Johnstone have been in good form recently, picking up successive draws against Celtic, Hibernian and Motherwell, currently putting them in eighth place in the table.
As previously mentioned, their latest result witnessed a draw against Celtic, with the Hoops only able to net an equaliser in the 83rd minute as Neil Lennon's side continue to struggle.
In fact, five of St Johnstone's 16 league games have been draws thus far, with the team registering a further four wins, sitting on just 17 points as they enter matchday 17.
However, Callum Davidson's side have been progressing through the Scottish League Cup, having beaten Motherwell 2-1 in the second round, with the Perth outfit set to take part in the quarter-final next week.
That being said, the young coach will need to focus his attention back to the league this weekend, with St Johnstone just two points ahead of their opponents.
Livingston have suffered nine defeats since the beginning of the 2020-21 season, finding themselves in ninth place after 16 games.
However, they managed to end their poor run last weekend when they beat Dundee, recording their first league win in five matches.
During the game, both Scott Pittman and Marvin Bartley were able to get on the scoresheet, picking up a comfortable win for the West Lothian side.
Nevertheless, their away form in recent times has been hugely disappointing, with Livingston failing to win 35 of their last 38 away matches in the Scottish Premiership.
It is also worth noting that St Johnstone are undefeated in their last 10 home matches against Livingston in all competitions, with the hosts feeling confident for Saturday's clash.
The last time these two sides met was less than three months ago, where Livingston picked up a 2-1 win over St Johnstone in late September.
St Johnstone Scottish Premiership form: DDDWDW
St Johnstone form (all competitions): DWDDWL
Livingston Scottish Premiership form: WLDLLL
Livingston form (all competitions): WWLWWD
Team News
St Johnstone have been given a double injury boost ahead of Saturday's clash, with both Craig Conway and Murray Davidson set to return for the side.
Both players have been training with the squad, and the Saints manager has confirmed that they will be available for the weekend.
Michael O'Halloran and Callum Booth may also get a chance to play in Saturday's game, with the players expected to make the bench.
For Livingston, they are still without long-term absentees Keaghan Jacobs and Alan Lithgow - Jacobs is recovering from a foot injury, while Lithgow is nursing a hip problem.
However, Robby McCrorie is expected to make his way back into the starting XI, after the goalkeeper completed his self-isolation period following a positive COVID-19 test.
St Johnstone possible starting lineup:
Clark; Rooney, Gordon, McCart; McNamara, McCann, Davidson, Tanser; Conway, Wotherspoon; May
Livingston possible starting lineup:
McCrorie; Devlin, Fitzwater, Guthrie, Serrano; Bartley, Pittman; Mullin, Sibbald, Forrest; Poplatnik
We say: St Johnstone 1-0 Livingston
St Johnstone are expected to get the win on Saturday afternoon, with the hosts currently possessing a strong home record against Livingston. Although the visitors managed an impressive victory against Dundee last time round, they have struggled on the road, therefore a win at McDiarmid Park seems unlikely.
Top betting 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 36.81%. A win for Livingston had a probability of 35.07% and a draw had a probability of 28.1%.
The most likely scoreline for a St Johnstone win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.48%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (7.81%) and 2-0 (6.8%). The likeliest Livingston win was 0-1 (11.14%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.19%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 7.6% likelihood.
