One spot separates St Mirren and Livingston in the Scottish Premiership table heading into Saturday's round 30 meeting at St Mirren Park.
Saints were leapfrogged by this weekend's opponents after a 1-1 draw with Dundee United, while the Lions moved into sixth place with a 2-1 triumph against Ross County before the international break.
Match preview
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St Mirren were expected to dispatch relegation-threatened Dundee Utd with ease but instead had to make do with a point against a side battling for their top-flight status.
That draw extended Saints' run without maximum points to three, following the 1-1 draw with St Johnstone and a 5-1 thrashing by title favourites Celtic.
Stephen Robinson would welcome a return to St Mirren Park, where the hosts tend to give little away unless the opponent are the champions-elect.
Despite letting in five against the table-topping side, only two teams have conceded fewer home goals than St Mirren's 14 — Rangers and Celtic (both nine) — suggesting this weekend's hosts should view that 5-1 loss as an anomaly, due to the fact they were 1-0 up before Charles Dunne's sending-off against Ange Postecoglou's men.
They have been beaten only three times on their turf all season and have the fifth-best points return in front of their fans, implying they could return to winning ways on Saturday.
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Robinson's men would have to outdo Livingston, who took advantage of the opposition before the international break in the 2-1 success over second-bottom Ross County.
Claiming maximum points in that game was opportune for David Martindale's team after a four-game run without success that included three defeats on the trot.
Heading into the two-week hiatus, those points also saw them supplant St Mirren in sixth, before travelling to do battle with the seventh-placed side this weekend.
However, a patchy record away from home could undermine all the pleasure from a fortnight ago if they do not avoid falling into old habits.
The Lions have conceded 24 goals in 13 away matches, scoring only 14 times at the other end, with three of the last five games on their travels ending in defeats.
Failure to score on Saturday would take their scoreless sequence on the road to three after firing blanks at Celtic and Aberdeen, although the fact they have netted in both meetings between the clubs this season gives reason for optimism.
Team News
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Dunne should return to the St Mirren lineup after serving his one-game ban for a professional foul.
Jonah Ayunga and Richard Tait are out for the foreseeable future, with the former out for the season after a cruciate ligament rupture.
Centre-back Declan Gallagher has been out with a hamstring issue since February, and the 32-year-old defender may not feature on Saturday.
Ayo Obileye has been ruled out for the rest of the season by the Livingston boss, and the defender will not add to his 25 appearances in 2022-23.
Obileye joins Tom Parkes — injured since December — and Sean Kelly — who has been out of action since late February — as Martindale's major absences for this weekend's game.
St Mirren possible starting lineup:
Carson; Fraser, Gogic, Dunne; Strain, Kiltie, Baccus, O'Hara, Tanser; Main, Greive
Livingston possible starting lineup:
George; Devlin, De Lucas, Boyes, Montano; Holt, Shinnie; Penrice, Pitman, Nouble; Anderson
We say: St Mirren 2-1 Livingston
Both games between the sides this season have produced goals, and St Mirren should nick a narrow win over a side that have lost four of the last six on the road.
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