ST MIRREN stand on the brink of an historic return to European football and can even edge closer to Kilmarnock if they manage to beat them in Paisley on Saturday.
Stephen Robinson's men produced a huge win at Dundee last week to go five points ahead of them in the race for that last European place – something St Mirren have not achieved since 1987.In fact, a win here would put them to within three points of Killie with two games left, although they have an inferior goal difference.
It was Saints' first win in six games last week and they will hoping to kick on against Derek McInnes' men, who can count themselves highly unlucky last week at Ibrox against Rangers.
They were leading 1-0 when defender Joe Wright was harshly sent off for a handball early on and they had to defend for the rest of the game and eventually collapsed to a 4-1 win. But the Ayrshire side have only lost to Rangers in the league since the start of December and have enjoyed an outstanding season.
How the bookies view it: Saints narrow favourites
There's not much between the teams this week with both sides very close in the market. UniBet go out on a limb though by making Killie 9/5, while St Mirren can be backed at 17/10 with McBookie.com. The draw is 11/5 with William Hill.
Previous head to heads: Killie have the edge
Kilmarnock won a fabulous game at home in March when they were two goals down at half time and roared back to beat Saints 5-2. They have also won in Paisley and the other game was a draw. Saints have actually failed to score in the last three home games against Killie.
Players to watch: Vassell is Saints nemesis
Toyosi Olusanya has netted four goals in his last eight games including the third goal against Dundee last weekend. He is 13/5 to score anytime on Saturday with bet365.
Journeyman striker Kyle Vassell looks like he has finally found a home in Ayrshire and has ten goals for the season including a double against St Mirren in the last meeting. He is 10/3 to score anytime with UniBet.
Probable line-ups:
Joe Wright will be suspended for Kilmarnock after last week's sending off, while St Mirren's former Killie man Greg Tiltie is back fully fit for Saints.
St Mirren: Hemming, Bolton, Gogic, Fraser, Strain, O'Hara, Boyd-Munce, Tanser, Olusanya, Mandron, McMenamin.
Kilmarnock: Dennis, Mayo, Deas, Findlay, Ndaba, Armstrong, Donnelly, Polworth, Kennedy, Watkins, Vassell.
Anything else catch the eye? Killie to go for the kill
Back Kilmarnock to bounce back from last week's disappointment at Ibrox and seal fourth spot in the table.
St Mirren may have won impressively last week, but they had been in a poor spell and you can't say that about Killie who have been ultra-consistent.
St Mirren fell apart at Rugby Park when the sides last met and they must still have nightmares about blowing a two goal lead to lose five goals.
If it's anything like that encounter, this should be an entertaining affair. St Mirren's last three home games have all finished in 2-1 scorelines and it's something of a surprise to see over 2.5 goals odds-against at 13/10 with McBookie.com given there were seven goals in the last match.
This Scottish Premiership match between St Mirren and Kilmarnock will be played on May 11, 2024 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best St Mirren vs Kilmarnock prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
