KILMARNOCK welcome St Johnstone to Rugby Park on Sunday for both team's second league game of the season.
Both will be desperate to get points on the board after varying degrees of disappointment last weekend.
Killie were absolutely thumped 4-0 at Celtic and while there's nothing particularly unusual about that, it was the fact they were completely overwhelmed and never came close to laying a glove on them – giving up over 82 per cent of possession and allowing the hosts a staggering 32 shots of which 13 were on target.
St Johnstone were outplayed in the first half at home to Aberdeen, but in fairness they recovered in the second half and could maybe have snatched a point in an eventual 2-1 defeat.
Craig Levein has overhauled a struggling squad and brought in ten players and there were plenty of promising potential against the Dons.
Killie looked shattered after a defeat in Europe at Cercle Brugges and they again come into this game on the back of another Europa Conference League game against Tromso where they grabbed a last gasp leveller in a 2-2 draw.
The hosts have only made a couple of additions in the summer and the Ayrshire will want to kick on from last season's exploits.
How the bookies view it: Killie good things
Kilmarnock are odds-on across the board and 4/5 is the best price with William Hill. St Johnstone are as big as 4/1 with Boylesports and the draw is 14/5 with Paddy Power.
Recent head to heads: Hosts have the upper hand
The teams met three times last season and Killie won two of them, with Saints claiming victory in Perth back in November.
There's rarely anything between the sides. You have to go back 13 games before any side won by more than a one-goal margin.
Players to watch: Captain Kyle's the man
Kyle Vassell is the Killie skipper these days and the experienced striker is a handful. He chipped in with 13 goals last season and will be wanting to get off the mark this season in the Premiership after netting in Europe on Thursday. He is 9/4 to score anytime with bet365.
Swedish hitman Benjamin Kimpioka netted five goals in his first four games for Saints and the former Sunderland man looks a spot of value at 5/1 to score anytime with UniBet.
Predicted line-ups:
Robbie Deas is back after suspension for Killie, while Marley Watkins could return.
Saints' Sam McClelland, 22, sustained a ruptured Achilles in the Monday night loss to Aberdeen. They will also be without Uche Ikpeazu.
Kilmarnock: McCrorie, Deas, Mayo, Findlay, Bainbridge, Kennedy, Watson, Polworth, Donnelly, Watkins, Vassell.
St Johnstone: Rae, Neilson, Cameron, Sanders, Wright, MacPherson, Essel, Smith, Raymond, Kimpioka, Sidibeh.
Anything else catch the eye?
You couldn't be steaming into Killie at a restricted odds-on price like that. In fact, you could make a case for not backing them at all.
Levein looks like he's assembled a decent side that look harder to beat this season and certainly carries more of a goal threat, which has been a major problem for them.
There's rarely much if anything between the sides and a draw here looks the call.
Saints and Aberdeen managed 19 corners between them on Monday so go for over 10.5 with McBookie.com too with plenty of width from both sides on display.
This Scottish Premiership match between Kilmarnock and St Johnstone will be played on Aug 11, 2024 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Kilmarnock vs St Johnstone prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
