Kilmarnock take on St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership on Wednesday, with the hosts in desperate need of a positive victory to move out of the relegation playoff position in the table.

St Mirren, meanwhile, are assured of safety, with only finishing top of the relegation group left to play for.

Match preview

Rangers forward Kemar Roofe celebrates scoring against Kilmarnock on August 22, 2020 © Reuters

It has been a dreadful campaign for Killie, who are facing the prospect of competing in Scotland's second tier for the first time since gaining promotion in 1993.

Their penultimate match of the season against St Mirren on Wednesday takes on even greater significance given that Tommy Wright's side travel to bottom-placed Hamilton, who are currently only two points behind Killie, on the final day of the season.

Back-to-back defeats, then, would ensure that Kilmarnock suffer their first relegation since falling to the third tier of Scottish football in 1989.

The 2-0 defeat to Motherwell last time out will have done little to aid confidence within their ranks; nor would the recent penalty shootout defeat to St Mirren in the Scottish Cup quarter-final. It really is do or die time now for Wright and his players.

St Mirren's Jake Doyle-Hayes looks dejected after the match on May 9, 2021 © Reuters

St Mirren head into Wednesday's meeting 11 points clear of their forthcoming opponents and therefore more than mathematically safe for a third successive season.

However, Jim Goodwin and his players would have been disappointed to narrowly lose 2-1 to St Johnstone in the Scottish Cup semi-final on Sunday.

With Glasgow giants Celtic and Rangers having both already been knocked out of the competition, there was a real opportunity for St Mirren to win their first trophy since lifting the League Cup in 2013, but two late goals from St Johnstone settled a cagey affair.

Goodwin and his players can still achieve St Mirren's highest league placing in the top tier since finishing seventh in the 1988-89 campaign, though, with Motherwell currently one point ahead of them in that position.

Kilmarnock Scottish Premiership form:

Kilmarnock form (all competitions):

St Mirren Scottish Premiership form:

Team News

Eamonn Brophy in axtion for Kilmarnock in August 2020 © Reuters

While the table is looking bleak for Kilmarnock, they are at least boosted by having no known injury or suspension issues to contend with.

They have also had the benefit of 11 days between their last game and Wednesday's meeting with St Mirren, so Wright can play his strongest XI without any fears of fatigue.

That would likely mean no place in the side for former West Bromwich Albion midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu, who has generally been an unused substitute in recent times.

St Mirren, meanwhile, will be unable to call upon the services of forward Eamonn Brophy, who is on loan from Kilmarnock.

Given the short turnaround between the cup semi-final defeat and this fixture, and the lack of importance riding on the match for St Mirren, Goodwin may rest a few players, with former Huddersfield Town forward Collin Quaner potentially lining up in attack as a result.

Kilmarnock possible starting lineup:
Rogers; Millen, Broadfoot, Rossi, Haunstrup; McKenzie, Power, Dicker, Pinnock; Kiltie, Lafferty

St Mirren possible starting lineup:
Alnwick; McCarthy, Finlayson, Shaughnessy; Henderson, Doyle-Hayes, Erhahon, Tait; MacPherson; Dennis, Quaner

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We say: Kilmarnock 2-0 St Mirren

We expect Kilmarnock to have benefitted from their break and have enough extra motivation and energy to beat St Mirren on Wednesday.

Victory could be enough to move Wright's side above Ross County, who face Hamilton in a crucial relegation battle.

Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.

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 Kilmarnock win with a probability of 37.81%. A win for St Mirren had a probability of 35.77% and a draw had a probability of 26.4%.

The most likely scoreline for a Kilmarnock win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.85%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.29%) and 2-0 (6.5%). The likeliest St Mirren win was 0-1 (9.53%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.56%). The actual scoreline of 3-3 was predicted with a 1% likelihood.