St Johnstone and Dundee United square off at McDiarmid Park on Sunday afternoon with both clubs sitting in mid-table of the Scottish Premiership.
While the home side remain unbeaten after two draws, Dundee occupy sixth position courtesy of their surprise victory over Rangers.
Match preview
© Reuters
Having failed to win a competitive game during 90 minutes this season, you would be forgiven for thinking that all is not well at St Johnstone.
However, Callum Davidson's side are one win away from the Europa Conference League group stages having held LASK Linz to a 1-1 draw in Austria on Thursday.
As well as pushing Galatasaray close in the Europa League tie which preceded that game, this is a time for St Johnstone supporters to dream rather than fixate on two draws in the Scottish Premiership.
That said, Davidson will acknowledge that a win is required to get their top-flight campaign up and running after being held by Ross County and Motherwell.
Changes will surely be made after the effort that they put in versus LASK, but Davidson will demand that whoever is selected on Sunday is motivated to topple a club which is still basking in the glory of defeating the champions.
Dundee United have since required penalties to overcome Ayr United in the League Cup, earning them a quarter-final clash at home to Hibernian.
Nevertheless, Tam Courts has backed up the bold decision to promote him to head coach with five wins from seven games, the most notable being the 1-0 win over Rangers which ended their long unbeaten record.
Initially being held to a 1-1 draw by Ayr could prove to be a blessing in disguise, the game swinging in Dundee United's favour through an 80th-minute dismissal and penalty.
The fixture will act as a reminder that much work is ahead if they are to finish higher than last-season's ninth position, but a top-four place could be theirs if they can take advantage of the workload and travelling of their next opponents.
- D
- D
- D
- D
- D
- L
- D
- D
- L
- W
- W
- W
- W
- L
- W
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Davidson will almost certainly make several alterations to his St Johnstone XI, including handing a recall to Manchester United loanee Reece Devine at left wing-back.
Liam Craig may take the place of Murray Davidson in midfield, with Stevie May an alternative to Christopher Kane in attack.
David Wotherspoon could return to the squad after sitting out the last three matches due to coronavirus regulations.
With Calum Butcher and Logan Chalmers on the sidelines, Courts could stick with the Dundee starting lineup from the Ayr contest.
Recent arrival Marc McNulty is likely to remain on the substitutes' bench.
St Johnstone possible starting lineup:
Clark; Kerr, Gordon, McCart; Rooney, Craig, McCann, Devine; O'Halloran, Kane, Middleton
Dundee United possible starting lineup:
Siegrist; Smith, Edwards, Mulgrew, Robson; Pawlett, Fuchs, Harkes; Watson, Clark, Sporle
We say: St Johnstone 1-1 Dundee United
Davidson will be aware that St Johnstone require a win sooner rather than later if they are to keep pace with the likes of Hibernian and Aberdeen. However, buoyed from the result against Rangers, we expect their opponents to show enough to earn a share of the spoils at the weekend.
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 Dundee United win with a probability of 35.05%. A win for St Johnstone had a probability of 34.29% and a draw had a probability of 30.7%.
The most likely scoreline for a Dundee United win was 0-1 with a probability of 13.49%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (6.88%) and 0-2 (6.86%). The likeliest St Johnstone win was 1-0 (13.3%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.53%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 13.5% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 0-1 win for Dundee United in this match.
