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

St Johnstone play host to Ross County on Saturday afternoon knowing that victory will go a long way to retaining their Scottish Premiership status.

At a time when the home side sit eight points clear of their 11th-placed opponents, the visitors are four points adrift of safety in the top-flight standings.

Match preview

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When losing six successive league fixtures shortly after the World Cup, Callum Davidson would have naturally had concerns regarding his position at St Johnstone.

However, the faith retained in him has been rewarded with eight points coming from seven fixtures, that return enough to keep the club out of relegation trouble for the time being.

That said, the Saints are four games without success in the Scottish Premiership, their latest setback coming courtesy of a 1-0 defeat to Aberdeen.

St Johnstone did play 84 minutes of that game with 10 men, however, and Davidson will generally be delighted with the character shown by his players.

Their form at McDiarmid Park is an issue, though, with St Johnstone not recording a home victory since they defeated Rangers at the beginning of November.

Meanwhile, Ross County head into this encounter on the back of losing five of their most recent six fixtures, keeping them as favourites to face at least a relegation playoff.

Malky MacKay was able to take positives from only losing 2-0 to Celtic last Sunday, although there was naturally frustration with both goals coming in added-on time in each half.

The situation remains retrievable with just a four-point gap to Kilmarnock, but MacKay will acknowledge that games such as the one on Saturday represent their best chance of victory.

While Ross County only scored twice during the aforementioned five defeats, they did thrash bottom-placed Dundee United as recently as February 25.

Team News

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With Andrew Considine serving a suspension, either Alex Mitchell or James Brown will be drafted into the St Johnstone back three.

The rest of Davidson's side gave good accounts of themselves as underdogs versus Aberdeen and could keep their places.

Jamie Murphy or Theo Blair could be considered as an alternative to Zak Rudden in the final third.

Despite losing to Celtic, Ross County impressed in a 2-0 loss, and MacKay may stick with the players who started that fixture with the champions.

That is dependent on the fitness issue sustained by Gwion Edwards, with Josh Sims on standby to deputise on the left flank, but Jack Baldwin remains unavailable through suspension.

St Johnstone possible starting lineup:

Matthews; McGowan, Gordon, Mtichell; Wright, Phillips, Hallberg, Montgomery; Wotherspoon; Murphy, May

Ross County possible starting lineup:

Laidlaw; Randall, Smith, Iacovitti, Harmon; Cancola, Loturi, Kenneh, Edwards; Brophy; White

We say: St Johnstone 1-1 Ross County

Both teams know the importance of three points on Saturday, yet recognise that it could prove pivotal in the long term if they avoid defeat. With that in mind, do not be surprised to see this fixture end in a low-scoring draw.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.