TWO clubs currently struggling form in the Scottish Premiership meet at McDiarmid Park on Saturday afternoon as rock-bottom St Johnstone play host to fifth-placed Motherwell.
St Johnstone are now nine points behind 11th-placed Hearts as they fell to a 3-1 defeat at Ibrox against Rangers, where they were three goals down inside the opening 25 minutes.
Simo Valakari’s hosts have now lost 10 of their last 12 Premiership matches (W1-D1-L10) and have picked up a solitary point across their previous five contests in front of their supporters.
However, The Saints did progress to the fifth round of the Scottish Cup at the weekend, as they defeated their upcoming opponents 1-0.
That cup defeat against St Johnstone last weekend means Motherwell come into this clash having won just one of their previous eight fixtures in all competitions (W1-D3-L4), with that coming in a 2-0 win at home to a seriously out-of-form Aberdeen side.
Stuart Kettlewell’s side began the campaign by winning three of their opening five Premiership contests on the road (W3-D0-L2) but have gone on to win just one of their next seven (W1-D1-L5).
How the bookies view it: Tough one to call
The Bookies find this a tough one to call, with BoyleSports making The Saints slight favourites at 7/5 to back up their cup win against Motherwell last weekend.
The same firm has an away win at 13/8, whilst the draw is 21/10.
Head to head: Steelmen done Well in the Premiership
Motherwell have won both league meetings between the pair this season by a 2-1 scoreline, but as alluded to above, St Johnstone got some sort of revenge with a 1-0 win in the Scottish Cup last weekend.
Players to watch: Kirk to KO Well again?
Saints striker Makenzie Kirk scored the winner in the cup last weekend and has scored in three of his past five appearances at McDiarmid Park.
Apostolos Stamatelopoulos is The Steelmen’s joint top-scorer with five goals, with four of those coming in the past couple of months.
Probable line-ups
Motherwell: Oxborough, Casey, Balmer, Blaney, Kaleta, Halliday, Miller, Wilson, Paton, Sparrow, Stamatelopolous
St Johnstone: Rae, Wright, Sanders, Mikulic, Raymond, Smith, Sprangler, Carey, Clark, Sidibe Kimpioka
Anything else catch the eye?
Motherwell’s opening 23 Premiership contests this campaign have averaged 2.86 goals per game, with Over 2.5 Goals paying out in 16 of their last 22, including in 9/12 (75%) of their road trips.
St Johnstone’s opening 23 matches in the Scottish Premiership this term have averaged 3.13 goals per game, with Over 2.5 Goals paying out in 16 (70%) of them – including in 8/11 (73%) of them on home soil.
What's more, 14 (64%) matches have also featured goals at both ends – including seven of their last eight – so backing goals is the way I’m keen to attack this game.
This Scottish Premiership match between St Johnstone and Motherwell will be played on Jan 25, 2025 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best St Johnstone vs Motherwell prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
