ST MIRREN and Hearts are gearing up for European football next season and meet in Paisley on Wednesday with the pressure off for both sides.
The hosts are likely to have confirmed European football without kicking a ball unless Dundee can win at Rangers the previous night and it will be their first time back in Europe since 1987.
Stephen Robinson's side have enjoyed an excellent campaign and have punched above their weight significantly as they clinched their second top six finish in a row,
Hearts long ago had third place wrapped up and they will want to keep as close as possible to runners-up Rangers, with the gap currently 15 points. They can break the 70-point barrier too with four points from their two remaining games.
Saints suffered a disappointing 1-0 home defeat to Kilmarnock which officially ended their slim hopes of overtaking the Ayrshire side into fourth place.
But Hearts eased to a pretty bloodless 3-0 home win against Dundee as they wrap up a very decent season for Steven Naismith's side.
How the bookies view it: Hearts narrow favourites
Hearts are slight favourites here with bet365 at 13/8 with the hosts 17/10. The draw is 11/5.
Recent head to heads: Hearts have the edge
In their three meetings this term, Hearts have won two of them, although St Mirren did triumph in the first meeting in September with a 1-0 win.
And that was St Mirren's only win in the last six meetings between the teams in Paisley.
Players to watch: Shanks back on goal trail
Alex Gogic has been outstanding for St Mirren this season and the Cypriot international celebrated by signing a new long-term deal last week. He netted a vital goal at Dundee the other week and is a threat at set-pieces. He is a big price at 14/1 to score anytime with bet365.
It may have gone unnoticed, but prolific Hearts hitman and captain Lawrence Shankland's goal against Dundee was his first from open play since the start of March. The Scotland star is 13/10 to get another win in Paisley to follow up his weekend strike against Dundee.
Probable line-ups:
St Mirren will be without Jonah Ayunga and Kwon Hyeok-kyu and Hearts are set to be without Liam Boyce, Craig Halkett, Peter Haring and Calem Nieuwenhof
ST MIRREN: Hemming, Bolton, Gogic, Fraser, Strain, O'Hara, Boyd-Munce, Tanser, Olusanya, McMenamin, Mandron.
HEARTS: Clark, Lembikisa, Rowles, Cochrane, Kingsley, Forrest, Devlin, Baningime, McKay, Shankland, Vargas
Anything else catch the eye? Draw the call in Paisley
With little to play for and the pressure off, this should be an entertaining game and, although you rarely see a lot of goals in Paisley, this will hopefully be something of an exception.
Back both teams to score and over 2.5 goals here at 5/4 with bet365, which came up the last time these two sides met in Renfrewshire.
And it wouldn't be a real shock if this one ended in a draw, with two evenly-matched teams both on the pitch and in the betting.
This Scottish Premiership match between St Mirren and Hearts will be played on May 15, 2024 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best St Mirren vs Hearts prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
