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

St Johnstone will be bidding to make it back-to-back wins in the Scottish Premiership when they welcome Motherwell to McDiarmid Park on Tuesday night.

The home side recorded a 2-1 victory over Kilmarnock on Wednesday, while Motherwell suffered a 1-0 defeat to Kilmarnock when the two sides locked horns on Saturday.

Match preview

St Johnstone's poor start to the season, which saw them pick up just four points from their opening nine Scottish Premiership matches, led to Steven MacLean losing his job as head coach at the end of October.

Alec Cleland is again in charge of the team on a caretaker basis, and the 52-year-old managed to lead them to a 2-1 success over Kilmarnock last time out, with Nicholas Clark scoring a brace for the strugglers.

St Johnstone are still bottom of the table, only picking up seven points from 10 matches, but securing their first victory of the campaign would have been a huge relief for all involved with the football club.

The Saints, who finished ninth in the Scottish Premiership last season, now have back-to-back home fixtures against Motherwell and Ross County before the campaign halts for another international break.

St Johnstone lost 2-0 to Motherwell when these two sides last locked horns in April, while they have not beaten Tuesday's opponents at home in the top flight since last March.

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Motherwell have won three, drawn two and lost six of their 11 Scottish Premiership matches this season to collect 11 points, which has left them in eighth position in the table.

The Well, who finished seventh in the top flight last term, will enter Tuesday's contest off the back of a 1-0 defeat at Kilmarnock on Saturday afternoon.

Stuart Kettlewell's side have not actually been victorious in the Scottish Premiership since the start of September, when they were 1-0 winners over Hearts.

Since then, Motherwell have lost six of their seven games in the league, including defeats in their last three on the road against Rangers, Livingston and Kilmarnock.

Kettlewell's team have actually conceded more times (17) than St Johnstone (16) this season, but they have scored 12 times to St Johnstone's five.

Team News

St Johnstone will be without the services of four players on Tuesday through injury, with Sam McClelland, Drey Wright, Ali Crawford and Callum Booth all out of action.

Meanwhile, Dara Costelloe is suspended following his red card against Kilmarnock last time out, which is expected to open the door for Steve May to come into the XI.

Clark hit a brace in the team's success last time out and is set to again be joined by Chris Kane in the final third, with the former still waiting for his first goal of the campaign.

Motherwell will again be without the services of Pape Souare, with the defender on the sidelines due to an ankle problem, which is likely to keep him out until December.

Head coach Kettlewell is expected to resist the temptation to shuffle his pack following the narrow defeat at Kilmarnock, as there were positives to take from the clash.

Mika Biereth has scored three times in four league appearances this season and will continue in the final third of the field, while Thelonius Bair is again expected to be given the nod at centre-forward.

St Johnstone possible starting lineup:

Mitov; McGowan, Gordon, Considine, Robinson; May, Sprangler, Smith, Carey; Clark, Kane

Motherwell possible starting lineup:

Kelly; Casey, Butcher, Blaney; McGinn, Spittal, Paton, Spencer; Wilkinson, Biereth, Bair

We say: St Johnstone 1-1 Motherwell

St Johnstone would have gained confidence from their win over Kilmarnock last time out, and they will now take on a Motherwell side in a poor run of form. There is not a huge difference in terms of the quality between these two sides, and we are expecting the points to be shared on Tuesday.

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