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

The Dark Blues will have a chance to lift off the bottom this Saturday when they travel to McDiarmid Park to face St Johnstone, who recently knocked them out of the Scottish League Cup.

Match preview

St Johnstone have had a tough start to the season, which saw them fail to win any of their opening six league games, pulling them down towards the relegation zone.

However, the club had a lot of football to play at that time due to their attempts to qualify for Europe, and having so many games crammed into the start of the campaign proved to be difficult.

Callum Davidson has started to see a turnaround in form as of late though, with St Johnstone winning their first match in the Scottish Premiership against Aberdeen.

It was a strong performance from his squad who were able to keep a clean sheet and steal the three points with a late goal from Stevie May.

Yet they could not keep that momentum going in their most recent league outing when they were on the other side of a 1-0 defeat against Hibernian after giving away a penalty.

The Saints will be looking to repeat the last time they played Dundee, which was just over a week ago when the two teams met in the Scottish League Cup quarter-final.

It was Davidson's squad that progressed that night with a 2-0 win after goals from Shaun Rooney and Ali Crawford helped them reach the final four in the competition.

The result was a real blow for the Dark Blues, as the cup competition had been their source of positivity this season as the club have failed to win a game in the league.

A concerning problem for Dundee is the fact they have now gone five games without scoring a goal in all competitions, which is one of the big reasons they have struggled to gain any points.

However, they did make things difficult for Rangers last weekend, with Steven Gerrard's squad only managing a 1-0 win in the game, but with a victory having the chance to draw them level with St Johnstone, Saturday's fixture will be a crucial one.

St Johnstone Scottish Premiership form:

St Johnstone form (all competitions):

Dundee Scottish Premiership form:

Dundee form (all competitions):

Team News

St Johnstone will be without Jamie McCart this weekend due to the fact he was sent off during their defeat against Hibernian, meaning Davidson will have to shuffle the pack defensively.

This could provide an opportunity for Reece Devine to step up and get some minutes, with the defender currently being on loan from Manchester United.

The Saints will also be without Callum Hendry, who joined Kilmarnock on a season-long loan, while Cammy Ballantyne has also departed the club, signing with Montrose until January.

James Brown did not feature last weekend after he picked up a knock during the Scottish League Cup quarter-final, and it remains unclear whether or not he will be fit enough for Saturday.

Dundee were still without Charlie Adam against Rangers as he continues to recover from injury, while Danny Mullen also joined him in missing out with his own problem.

However, Ryan Sweeney was able to overcome fitness doubts to start the game against the Gers, as did Jason Cummings, who featured from the bench.

St Johnstone possible starting lineup:

Clark; Devine, Ambrose, Muller; Rooney, Wotherspoon, Craig, Booth; Crawford, O'Halloran; Kane

Dundee possible starting lineup:

Legzdins; Ashcroft, Fontaine, Sweeney; Kerr, Anderson, Byrne, McGhee, Marshall; McMullan, Griffiths

We say: St Johnstone 2-1 Dundee

Neither team is in prolific form at the moment, with each club struggling for victories on a consistent basis, particularly in the league, which makes this an important match for both.

However, with St Johnstone having only just beaten the Dark Blues, there is a chance that they should be able to repeat that here, as they do have the stronger attacking options.