Preview: St Mirren vs. Motherwell - prediction, team news, lineups

The Buddies kickstart their journey at home as they welcome Motherwell, who will be hoping to push one step further this time around and break into the top five.

Match preview

St Mirren will be hoping to kickstart their brand new campaign in an impressive manner on Sunday when they welcome Steve Robinson's old club to the Paisley 2021 Stadium.

The Buddies struggled with consistency throughout the 2021-22 campaign, picking up 10 wins alongside 14 draws and defeats, which is something the Buddies will be hoping to tweak slightly.

Both teams ended the previous season in a similar fashion with mixed results, but St Mirren have already been busy playing in the Scottish League Cup qualification group stage.

Across those four games the squad has been able to win and lose two games, and that has ultimately seen them crash out of the competition, which has not provided an ideal start.

Despite that, the most recent outing that they had led to a 3-1 victory against FC Edinburgh with a penalty from Mark O'Hara being followed up by a brace from Jonah Ayunga, providing some confidence for the squad.

Motherwell have not entered the Scottish League Cup just yet, but they have also been knocked out of a competition during the summer before the Scottish Premiership has even begun.

That was in the Europa Conference League, where they lost both of their second qualifying round matches against Sligo Rovers without scoring a single goal.

The lack of European distraction could prove to be a good thing for the Steelmen though, as it will allow them to put all of their focus on the league campaign.

Graham Alexander's men were defeated 2-0 in the second game against Sligo Rovers, and he will no doubt be wanting to see more from his squad on Sunday.

Defensively Motherwell struggled massively last season, conceding 61 times, and that is something that they will have to address to try and make any progress in 2022-23.

St Mirren form (all competitions):

Motherwell form (all competitions):

Team News

Ayunga will be looking to retain his place in the starting lineup this weekend considering the fact that he scored a brace in their most recent outing.

It will likely be Kieran Offord who will be partnering him up front, while at the other end of the field it is set to be a back three for the Buddies.

David Devine and Barry Maguire were both unavailable for Motherwell in their Europa Conference match against Sligo Rovers, and that is likely to be the case again on Sunday.

The Steelmen have managed to retain plenty of their key players throughout the summer so far, and the consistency of being able to keep most of the squad together is something that should benefit them early on in the campaign.

St Mirren possible starting lineup:

Urminsky; Gallagher, Shaughnessy, Dunne; Strain, Baccus, Erhahon, O'Hara, Tait; Ayunga, Offord

Motherwell possible starting lineup:

Kelly; McGinn, Lamie, Mugabi, Carroll; Spitall, Tierney, Slattery, Morris; Efford, Van Veen

We say: St Mirren 1-2 Motherwell

St Mirren have had mixed results during the preseason, and in the Scottish League Cup, which has not provided the best possible start to their season.

The visitors had a much stronger campaign last year, and they will be aiming to take that confidence into the new season, and they should have enough to get the job done.

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