St Johnstone, looking to overcome a six-point deficit and secure safety in the Scottish Premiership, will kickstart their survival campaign with a clash against Motherwell in the first of five post-split fixtures.
The hosts are eighth in the standings and five points clear of the bottom two, while the visitors are bottom of the pack, trailing safety by six points.
Match preview
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Motherwell appeared on course for a return to the top half of the Scottish Premiership for the first time since 2021-22, with the Steelmen enjoying a superb first-half of the campaign that saw them sit as high as fourth in the table on matchday 18.
However, a run of only three victories in their final 15 league fixtures saw the Steelmen slip out of the top six altogether, eventually placing eighth in the table, two points outside of the top six.
That run of results also saw the departure of former manager Stuart Kettlewell, with Michael Wimmer appointed as his successor, and after an initial strong start of two victories, the German has failed to win any of his last four.
Wimmer will be eager to end that streak with a win on Saturday, especially as the Steelmen are just five points ahead of 11th-placed Dundee in the relegation playoff spot.
St Johnstone may be coming into the clash as the underdogs, given they sit bottom of the league table and trail safety by six points, but Simo Valakari's men are in a fair run of form.
The Saints won four, drew two and lost four of their final 10 league fixtures, ensuring they have a chance of securing survival in the final five post-split fixtures.
They did, however, suffer a miserable 5-0 loss to Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-final in their most recent match, meaning they may be short of confidence coming into the encounter.
While their belief may be lacking due to that defeat, St Johnstone have had the upper hand in meetings with Motherwell this year, defeating the Steelmen 1-0 in the Scottish FA Cup and 2-1 in the Scottish Premiership.
Team News
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The hosts are dealing with an injury crisis heading into this clash, with up to 10 players unlikely to feature, including Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, Archie Mair, Jack Vale, Liam Gordon, Paul McGinn, Ross Callachan, Sam Nicholson, Shane Blaney, Steve Seddon and Zach Robinson.
Kofi Balmer and Andy Halliday are also doubts for the Steelmen after being forced off with injuries in their most recent match against Hearts.
Elsewhere, a similar side to the one that featured in the 0-0 draw with the Jambos is expected to start on Saturday, including a strike partnership of Tony Watt and Tawanda Maswanhise.
As for the visitors, Bozo Mikulic is not expected to feature for the remainder of the campaign, while Drey Wright and Sam McClelland are also ruled out of Saturday's clash.
Following the heavy 5-0 defeat to Celtic in their most recent game, Valakari is expected to make several changes to his starting side, meaning the likes of Benjamin Mbunga-Kimpioka and Makenzie Kirk could start.
Motherwell possible starting lineup:
Balcombe; Koutroumbis, O'Donnell, Casey; Sparrow, Miller, Andrews, Thompson; Slattery; Watt, Maswanhise
St Johnstone possible starting lineup:
Fisher; Balodis, Sprangler, Douglas; Curtis, Holt, Griffith, Duke-McKenna; Kirk, Carey; Mbunga-Kimpioka
We say: Motherwell 2-0 St Johnstone
Motherwell may have struggled in recent encounters with St Johnstone, but with the visitors having scored just once in their last five outings, we expect that trend to continue, allowing the hosts to secure a victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
