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

St Johnstone's search for their first victory of the new Scottish Premiership campaign will continue when they host Dundee on Saturday.

The visitors currently sit sixth in the table following a mixed start to the campaign, but they head into this fixture off the back of their first win of the season in the league.

Match preview

St Johnstone have had a difficult start to the Scottish Premiership season having failed to win any of their opening three matches, while they have also been knocked out of the Scottish League Cup.

A big reason for their early season struggles has been the fact that the Saints have failed to score a goal in the SPL, which is a run that also extends to their final group match in the Scottish League Cup.

Steven MacLean's men are the only team in the SPL to have not registered a goal at this stage, but they did manage to pick up a point last weekend which fans will hope was a turning point.

St Johnstone's goalless draw against defending champions Celtic is one that could prove to be crucial in changing the belief within the squad, particularly against such a strong side.

However, it is now important for the Saints to take that momentum and turn it into a victory, especially since only goal difference is keeping them off the foot of the table.

For the visitors, they will likely see this as an ideal fixture to continue climbing up the table themselves, particularly since a victory could take them to the top of the division depending on other results.

While pushing that high will not be the focus, securing consecutive wins for the first time this season certainly will be, especially after such a rocky start.

Much like their opponents, Dundee were also knocked out of the Scottish League Cup in the group stage, which is a situation they have managed to put past them successfully.

While the results in the league have been mixed, with one draw, one defeat, and one victory, the performances from Dundee have been positive which will be the big takeaway.

Last weekend saw the Dark Blues secure their first win of the season with Luke McCowan's goal proving to be enough against Hearts, with the focus now being on the follow-up of that.

Team News

Jay Turner-Cooke and Luke Robinson both made their debuts for St Johnstone last weekend after completing summer moves to the Saints, and considering the positive result it is likely they will keep their places in the team.

Meanwhile, Stevie May did drop down to the bench against Celtic, but his experience is likely going to see him return to the team.

Trevor Carson was able to overcome injury doubts for Dundee and he kept his first clean sheet of the season in doing so, which will lead to him playing in goal once again.

The 4-4-2 formation that the visitors have been using this season has made the team resilient and provided structure that appears to be working for them, which is something they are likely to keep deploying here.

St Johnstone possible starting lineup:

Mitov; Robinson, McClelland, Gordon, Considine; McGowan, Phillips; Smith, Ballantyne, Turner-Cooke; May

Dundee possible starting lineup:

McCracken; Mulligan, Shaughnessy, Ashcroft; McCowan, Boateng, McGhee, Cameron, Beck; Robinson, Bakayoko

We say: St Johnstone 0-2 Dundee

St Johnstone have had a tough start to the season and it is unlikely that is going to change this weekend, even though they have the home advantage.

The Saints have struggled to find the back of the net, and that is something that Dundee will likely exploit on Saturday.

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