
St Mirren sparked their League Cup group campaign back into life with a narrow win at Forfar in midweek and will now be looking to put on a more polished performance when they host Annan Athletic.
The Buddies let me down last weekend when they could only draw 0-0 on the road at Arbroath and they even missed out on the bonus point when the Red Lichties won the ensuing penalty shoot-out.
That put some pressure on Stephen Robinson's men to deliver at Station Park and they got the job done, with a bet landing for me as they laboured to a 2-1 victory.
St Mirren now host an Annan side who have taken just a point from their two games so far and prop up Group D.
Athletic were hammered 6-1 at home by Ayr United on Tuesday night so the League Two side will head to Paisley with their confidence dented.
Having lost so heavily to Championship opposition, boss Peter Murphy will have a tough job on his hands lifting spirits as Annan prepare to take on a team that has finished in the Premiership top six for the last three seasons.
How the bookies view it: Athletic not at the races
Annan are BoyleSports' 14/1 rank outsiders for this one after that thrashing from Ayr on Tuesday night. St Mirren are tiny at 1/7 and the draw is pretty hefty at 6/1.
Head to head: Second helpings
These sides have faced off just once before in a competitive game and it came 10 years ago in the League Cup. Annan took the lead inside the first minute but the Buddies bounced back to claim a 2-1 win at Galabank.
Players to watch: Mikael's the Man
Annan's defence couldn't cope with Ayr target man George Oakley in midweek as the Englishman helped himself to a hat-trick. Mikael Mandron is a similar kind of player to Oakley and the Frenchman could get a bit of joy here, although the bookies are unlikely to provide any scorer prices again.
Aidan Smith has scored in both of Annan's group games so far and looks like their best bet for a goal here. The midfielder netted eight times last term and the 28-year-old looks in the mood to better that tally in the new campaign.
Probable line-ups
Robinson made four changes in midweek and is likely to shuffle his pack again as his bids to get his squad up to full fitness ahead of the Premiership kick-off. Mandron should start up front after scoring off the bench in Forfar. Skipper Mark O'Hara is available again after suspension.
Scott Hooper missed out for Annan against Ayr and is a doubt for the trip to Paisley while Euan Deveney was forced off in that heavy midweek loss.
St Mirren: Urminsky, Gogic, Fraser, Richardson, Tanser, O'Hara, John, Phillips, Idowu, Mandron, Scott.
Annan Athletic: Balfour, Muir, Todd, Muir, Gilmour, McGowan, A Smith, Carmichael, Barlow, P Smith, Craik.
Anything else catch the eye?
It's hard finding value with St Mirren such heavy favourites but Annan's display against Ayr hints that Robinson's side could finally spark to scoring life.
Over 3.5 goals looks decent at 13/10, given it almost landed in midweek when St Mirren were away from home against another League Two side. They should get a bit more joy in their first home game this term.
Annan were 2-0 down by half-time against Ayr and that makes over 1.5 first-half goals another decent option here at 5/4. The Buddies should be too strong on home soil and I also like the 23/20 on offer at BoyleSports for them to win both halves.