Preview: Aberdeen vs. St Johnstone - prediction, team news, lineups

St Johnstone will travel to Pittodrie Stadium on Saturday as they aim to secure their first victory of the Scottish Premiership season.

They collide with Aberdeen, who sit just two places above them in the league table and will be attempting to put a stop to their six-game streak without a win.

Match preview

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Aberdeen had a strong start to their Scottish Premiership campaign, picking up consecutive victories against Dundee United and Livingston, showcasing the type of form needed to improve upon their efforts last season and break into the top three.

However, in recent times their form has taken a real dip, as they have now gone six games in a row without picking up a win across a variety of competitions.

They have been knocked out of both the Scottish League Cup and the Europa Conference League, while their first league defeat took place at the weekend against Motherwell.

The Dons conceded two goals against Graham Alexander's team in order to suffer the loss, despite the fact that they had 20 shots and 75% of the possession throughout the game.

This marked the first time that Stephen Glass witnessed his men be unable to score in the league this season, and after the match, the Aberdeen boss insisted that "it is important we get back on track next Saturday".

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They are not the only team heading into this fixture needing a win though, with St Johnstone having failed to secure three points so far in the 2021-22 campaign, and scoring goals has been a big part of that problem.

Callum Davidson's squad have only found the back of the net twice so far in the Scottish Premiership, which is something they have to address in order to start earning more consistent points.

The Saints started the season solidly with consecutive draws, and they have earned their place in the third round of the Scottish League Cup, which brought some positives.

St Johnstone did take the lead against Rangers at the weekend through Michael O'Halloran, but Steven Gerrard's team managed to fight back to pick up the 2-1 victory.

However, they will need to improve upon their performances against Aberdeen last season, as the Dons were victorious in both of their league encounters in 2020-21.

Team News

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Glass made two changes to his starting lineup against Motherwell, making the decision to drop Dean Campbell to the bench while Austin Samuels was unavailable through injury, with his fitness still being a doubt for this weekend.

Opportunities were provided to Jack MacKenzie and Marley Watkins in the 2-0 defeat, while Connor McLennan was able to return to the bench, bolstering the squad depth.

Aberdeen suffered a further blow during their match on Saturday as Calvin Ramsay had to be substituted due to an injury, but this led to David Bates making his debut for the club, and the upcoming fixture could see him start for the first time.

The visitors will still be without Cameron MacPherson as he continues to rehabilitate his dislocated shoulder, while both Murray Davidson and Craig Bryson also missed the loss against Rangers with injuries.

Eetu Vertainen did get to make his debut for the Saints off the bench in that game though, and he could be an option for Davidson this weekend.

Aberdeen possible starting lineup:
Lewis; Bates, Gallagher, McCrorie, McKenzie; Ferguson, Brown, Longstaff; Ojo, Watkins, Ramirez

St Johnstone possible starting lineup:
Clark; Rooney, Brown, Muller, McCart, Devine; Wotherspoon, Craig, Crawford; O'Halloran, Kane

We say: Aberdeen 1-1 St Johnstone

Neither Aberdeen nor St Johnstone have tons of confidence or momentum coming into Saturday's game, and both need to pick up a positive result for differing reasons.

However, both teams cannot afford to continue their current runs and that is the type of situation that can lead to a closely contested game that could see them battle out to share the spoils.