Preview: St Johnstone vs. Dundee United - prediction, team news, lineups

Callum Davidson's men are currently winless in five consecutive home matches against the Terrors and will be looking to end this poor record and kick off the new year on a high.

Match preview

St Johnstone failed to find their feet in the Premiership as they fell to a 3-2 home loss at the hands of Hearts when the sides squared off last Wednesday.

Trailing 2-0 at the break, Stevie May pulled one back for the hosts five minutes into the second half, but Barrie McKay restored Hearts' two-goal lead shortly after the hour mark before Jamie Murphy halved the deficit with a 79th-minute strike.

Prior to that, Davidson's men saw their run of six consecutive league matches without defeat come to an end on Christmas Eve, when they suffered a 4-1 thrashing against Celtic at Celtic Park.

Following a decent first half of the season where they picked up 24 points from 19 matches, St Johnstone are currently sixth in the Premiership table, level on points with seventh-placed Livingston.

Elsewhere, Dundee United turned in a performance of the highest quality in their final home game of the year as they secured a comfortable 3-0 victory over Ross County in a bottom-of-the-table clash last Wednesday.

In a one-sided affair at Tannadice Park, a first-half own goal from Connor Randall put the Terrors on their way to to all three points before Charlie Mulgrew and Craig Sibbald scored second-half goals to wrap up the year in style.

Prior to that, Dundee United were on a three-game winless run across all competitions, picking up one draw and losing twice, including a 2-0 defeat against Swansea City in a friendly matchup on December 3.

Liam Fox's men have now picked up four wins, four draws and lost 10 of their 18 matches to collect 16 points and sit 11th in the league standings, one point above last-placed Ross County, albeit with one game in hand.

While Dundee United will now be looking to pick up successive wins and steer clear of the bottom of the table, they have struggled for results away from home, where they are one of just two sides yet to pick up a win this season and hold the division's second-worst record with three points from other matches.

St Johnstone Scottish Premiership form:

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D

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L

Dundee United Scottish Premiership form:

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D

W

Team News

St Johnstone will take to the pitch without the attacking duo of Murray Davidson and Chris Kane, who are currently recuperating from ankle and knee injuries respectively.

They are joined on the club's injury table by Scottish defender Callum Booth, who continues his long road to full fitness after suffering an Achilles tendon injury back in May.

Off the back of a dominant display in midweek, Fox could name an unchanged starting XI, meaning we could see a back three of skipper Ryan Edwards, Ross Graham and Charles Mulgrew, with Mark Birighitti between the sticks.

Dylan Levitt and Sibbald should retain their roles at the centre of the park, while we expect an unchanged attacking trio of Ian Harkes, Glenn Middleton and veteran striker Steven Fletcher.

On the injury front, Scottish international Peter Pawlett has missed the last three matches through a calf injury and the 31-year-old midfielder is ruled out of the trip to the McDiarmid Park.

St Johnstone possible starting lineup:

Matthews; McGowan, Gordon, Considine; Wright, Hallberg, Carey, Montgomery; Crawford, Clark, May

Dundee United possible starting lineup:

Birighitti; Graham, Edwards, Mulgrew; Smith, Levitt, Harkes, Sibbald; Harkes, Fletcher, Middleton

We say: St Johnstone 1-2 Dundee United

Buoyed by their victory over Ross County, Dundee United will head into the new year with renewed confidence as they look to strengthen their league position in the second half of the season. Fox's men have enjoyed success in their recent visits to the McDiarmid Park and we are backing them to come away with a slender victory against the floundering St Johnstone.

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