Sports Mole previews Saturday’s Scottish Premiership clash between St Mirren and Aberdeen, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
St Mirren will host Aberdeen on Saturday in their latest Scottish Premiership match, with the Buddies aiming to extend their unbeaten run to three matches.
On the other hand, the visitors will focus on trying to push away from the relegation zone as Neil Warnock continues to look for his first league victory as manager.
Match preview
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St Mirren rescued a point from the jaws of defeat in midweek to keep themselves in the mix when it comes to the battle for a place in the top four.
The Buddies had been behind against Ross County since the 11th minute of the game, but in the dying embers, Toyosi Olusanya found the back of the net to ensure they shared the spoils.
While the draw stopped them from pushing into fourth place in midweek, it did increase the pressure on Kilmarnock as they now sit just one point behind them in the league table.
Steve Robinson‘s men will now go again and look to overtake Killie this weekend if they can take all three points, which would stretch their current unbeaten run to three games.
Considering they comfortably defeated Aberdeen 3-0 the last time they met there should be no shortage of confidence for the Buddies, particularly since they have a stronger home record this season.
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For the visitors, it is a case of simply needing to get back to winning ways after a very difficult period that has seen them sink to ninth in the table.
Warnock has failed to guide his team to a victory in the Scottish Premiership since taking charge of the club at the start of February, with the pressure continuing to mount on the veteran manager.
The Dons have gone nine games without winning in the league, and after conceding 45 goals so far this season there is plenty of work to be done.
While Aberdeen have a four-point cushion on the relegation zone, Warnock will not want to risk that being shrunk at this stage in the season.
However, the Dons have failed to score in their previous two matches which is an area for the team to improve heading into this weekend.
St Mirren Scottish Premiership form:
St Mirren form (all competitions):
Aberdeen Scottish Premiership form:
Aberdeen form (all competitions):
Team News
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St Mirren are dealing with several injuries at the moment as Connor McMenamin is dealing with a knee problem while Ryan Strain has a groin issue that has kept him out of action since November.
Olusanya will be hoping he has earned the ability to play from the first whistle this time around after getting on the scoresheet in midweek.
With 13 goals to his name already this season, the pressure will be on Bojan Miovski this weekend to try and get Aberdeen back to scoring goals after two matches without one.
However, at the other end of the pitch Slobodan Rubezic will be missing due to a knee problem, and he is not expected to feature at any point this month.
St Mirren possible starting lineup:
Hemming; Bolton, Gogic, Fraser; Bwomono, Kwon, Boyd-Munce, Tanser; Jamieson, Kiltie, Mandron
Aberdeen possible starting lineup:
Roos; Devlin, Gartenmann, Jensen, MacKenzie; Barron, Shinnie, Hoilett, McGrath, Sokler; Miovski
We say: St Mirren 2-0 Aberdeen
Aberdeen have been struggling to score as of late, and that is something that could cause them problems on the road this weekend.
St Mirren will want to keep pushing for a place in the top four, and the quality of the squad combined with their momentum should lead to them taking all three points.
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