St Johnstone are continuing to try and fight against the threat of relegation this Saturday when they host Motherwell, with the Saints eight points adrift of safety.
The Steelmen have no chance of dropping out from the top flight, but the club still have a lot to fight for, potentially being able to finish as high as fourth place.
Match preview
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St Johnstone have gone three fixtures without a win heading into this one, which has left them in the relegation playoff spot, which they are desperately trying to fight against.
Goals have been a problem for the Saints recently, as they have not scored more than once in a game for their previous seven outings, adding a lot of pressure onto each match.
This is something that Callum Davidson will want to see change, particularly after not finding the back of the net at all during their two most recent outings.
St Johnstone were held to a goalless draw with Hibernian when they last played, and while that was a good result overall, it simply is not enough to claw back the eight-point gap that they have from safety.
The Saints have failed to pick up a victory in their three previous matches against Motherwell, with a draw at the start of the season being followed up by a defeat, which they need to turn around this time.
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However, the Steelmen are also in a need to get back to winning ways, as they have gone five games in a row without one across all competitions, which they will want to improve upon.
Motherwell were defeated last weekend in the Scottish Cup by Hibernian, with Joe Efford's goal not being enough on the day as they lost 2-1, with Bevis Mugabi also being sent off in this match.
Previous to that, Graham Alexander's men had drawn three of their four fixtures in the league, and while the consistent points have helped, if the club wants to push into the top half, they will need more.
Things are tight right now in the Scottish Premiership, as there is just a single point between fourth place and ninth, meaning there is a lot of opportunities for movement within the teams.
If Motherwell want to break into the top half and earn a place in the European competitions for next season, then a victory within this fixture could prove to be vital to their efforts.
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Team News
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St Johnstone will be boosted by the returns of Shaun Rooney and Callum Booth on Saturday, which shall be welcomed by Davidson, providing him with more options to choose from.
Zander Clark is also fit again, while James McCart is available as well, with the squad coming into fitness at the right time, but James Brown is a doubt heading into this one.
Efford will be set to retain his place in the Motherwell team this week, fresh from scoring in their previous outing, and he will likely work with Kevin van Veen together.
On the other wing, Kaiyne Woolery is likely to return to the team after being rested from the start against Hibernian, which will provide further width.
St Johnstone possible starting lineup:
Clark; Cleary, Gordon, McCart; Sang, Hallberg, MacPherson, Gallacher, Crawford; Hendry, Middleton
Motherwell possible starting lineup:
Kelly; Ojala, Lamie, Johansen; McGinley, Donnelly, Cornelius, Shields; Efford, Woolery, Van Veen
We say: St Johnstone 2-1 Motherwell
While Motherwell likely head into this match as favourites due to their league positioning, there is a lot of pressure on St Johnstone right now due to the relegation battle.
The fact that there is so much on the line for them means that they could end up pulling off an upset, as the squad have got a lot to fight for, which can often be a great motivator.
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 Motherwell win with a probability of 36.92%. A win for St Johnstone had a probability of 35.33% and a draw had a probability of 27.8%.
The most likely scoreline for a Motherwell win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.12%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (7.92%) and 0-2 (6.73%). The likeliest St Johnstone win was 1-0 (10.82%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.09%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 7.7% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a 2-1 win for St Johnstone in this match.
