ST MIRREN and Kilmarnock flew the Scottish flag for a while in Europe this season and both actually tasted a degree of success.
But the downside to that taste of Europe has been disappointing starts in the league for two teams who overperformed and reached the top six last term.
And they will want to put it right on Saturday when they meet in Paisley.
Saints saw off Iceland's Valur in their first game in European football for 37 years, but eventually found Brann too strong although they were far from disgraced.
Killie beat another Norwegian side Tromso before FC Copenhagen got a real scare at Rugby Park before the side who bet Manchester United in the Champions League last season eventually got the draw which was enough to go through.
But in the league, Killie are bottom of the pile after collecting just one point from four games and even that was a last gasp leveller against Hibs last week.
And Saints are slightly better with four points after an opening day win against Hibs and a draw last week at Dundee.
So both sides will want to start performing in their bread and butter games.
How the bookies view it: Saints are favourites
Home advantage sees Saits claim favouritism here at 13/10 with William Hill.
Killie can be backed at 9/4 with William Hill and the draw is 5/2 with bet365.
Recent head to heads: Killie smashed Saints last term
Kilmarnock loved a game against the Saints last season. They won three and drew the other one.
In fact, Saints are aiming for their first win against Kilmarnock in ten attempts.
Players to watch: Brucie bonus
Bruce Anderson rescued a point for Killie from the penalty spot last week and the former Aberdeen striker should start again after a rare selection last week. He is 3/1 to score anytime with bet365.
Saints' Toyosi Olusanya grabbed a super opening goal in his last game against Dundee. It was his fourth goal of the season and he is 12/5 to score anytime with UniBet.
Predicted line-ups:
Kilmarnock's Brad Lyons returns from suspension but Liam Donnelly is injured.
Saints are without Conor McMenamin and Greg Kiltie.
Kilmarnock: O'Hara, Wright, Mayo, Findlay, Ndaba, Armstrong, Watson, Polworth, Kennedy, Vassell, Anderson.
St Mirren: Balcombe, Fraser, Iacovitti, Taylor, Rooney, Phillips, O'Hara, Gogic, Brown, Olusanya, Ayunga.
Anything else catch the eye?
Derek McInnes just loves his Killie side playing St Mirren and given their underdogs status here and the price, they are worth a punt.
Killie are better than their league position suggests and now they have got the distraction of Europ out of the way, they should be collecting more points.
They are yet to properly get going, but the same could be said of St Mirren too who have yet to hit the heights of last term and Killie look worth a go.
Neither defence looks watertight and both teams to score looks a solid investment at 19/20 with bet365, with Saints involved in a four-goal thriller last week and Killie also seeing goals at both ends.
This Scottish Premiership match between St Mirren and Kilmarnock will be played on Sep 14, 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.
