Sports Mole previews Saturday's Scottish Premiership clash between Motherwell and St Johnstone, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Motherwell welcome St Johnstone to Lanarkshire this Saturday for what should be an interesting Scottish Premiership clash.

Both teams are at risk of being dragged down into a relegation battle, but good recent form means that a top-half finish for either is certainly not out of the question.

Match preview

Graham Alexander, now in charge of Motherwell, pictured in September 2020 © Reuters

Motherwell boss Graham Alexander has seen his team endure an inconsistent run of form in recent games.

Wins at Ross County and at home to Dundee United were followed by a loss at Celtic, before the team bounced back with a 1-0 win at Kilmarnock.

The 4-1 reverse at the hands of Hamilton Academical last weekend will therefore have stung Alexander and he will want a reaction from his team this weekend.

Scotland international defender Stephen O'Donnell was sent off in the 18th minute of the game when his team were already a goal down.

They conceded another three goals before Mark O'Hara hit a consolation from the penalty spot in the 68th minute.

Midfielder O'Hara showed his versatility in that game by playing in four different positions after making a return from concussion.

The penalty he netted was his fourth goal of the season, but his personal achievements did nothing to sweeten the pain of defeat in the Lanarkshire derby.

He has acknowledged that the Steelmen have some work to do if they want to start climbing the table again and that work begins on Saturday against a St Johnstone team that has shown good form since beating Hibernian in the League Cup semi-final on January 23.

That semi-final win was part of a seven-game unbeaten run that only ended with a 1-0 defeat to Rangers at Ibrox. Since that loss in Govan, the Perth Saints have won away at in-form Livingston and lost at Celtic.

Manager Callum Davidson felt that his team were the victims of inconsistent refereeing at McDiarmid Park against the Hoops, and he will want his team to bounce back strongly in Lanarkshire on Saturday.

The Perth Saints are in eighth place in the table, four points behind Dundee United and St Mirren. A victory on Saturday could see them apply pressure to those two teams, who face each other in Paisley this weekend.

Motherwell Scottish Premiership form: LWWLWL

St Johnstone Scottish Premiership form: WDWLWL
St Johnstone form (all competitions): WDWLWL

Team News

Motherwell goalkeepers Scott Fox and Trevor Carson remain out for the rest of the season, but Graham Alexander has a heap of other injury concerns to deal with this weekend.

Liam Donnelly and Charles Dunne are both sidelined with knee problems, while Scotland international defender Declan Gallagher is out with a hamstring injury.

Liam Grimshaw is also out with illness, while Steven Lawless has a knee injury and Nathan McGinley is recovering from a concussion.

Stephen O'Donnell is suspended after his red card against Hamilton last weekend.

For St Johnstone, Murray Davidson could make his return from injury this weekend, though it is perhaps more likely that he will return to the squad for next weekend's League Cup final against Livingston.

Defender Scott Tanser and goalkeeper Ross Sinclair are both out with knocks.

One player who could feature for the Perth Saints is recent signing Charlie Gilmour, an Arsenal academy product who has played for Scotland as well as England at youth levels.

Motherwell possible starting lineup:
Kelly; Johnston, Mugabi, Lamie, Carroll; Campbell, O'Hara, Maguire; Long, Watt, Cole

St Johnstone possible starting lineup:
Clark; Kerr, Gordon, McCart; Rooney, McCann, Bryson, Booth; Conway, Wotherspoon; Kane

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We say: Motherwell 1-2 St Johnstone

Neither of these sides has drawn many games in recent weeks, and St Johnstone have been on a really good run, apart from their results against the Old Firm.

The Perth Saints therefore look likely winners, though they will need to watch out for a reaction from the Steelmen to last week's derby day defeat at Hamilton.

Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting over 1.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a St Johnstone win with a probability of 39.52%. A win for Motherwell had a probability of 34.2% and a draw had a probability of 26.3%.

The most likely scoreline for a St Johnstone win was 0-1 with a probability of 10%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.51%) and 0-2 (6.82%). The likeliest Motherwell win was 1-0 (9.17%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.49%). The actual scoreline of 0-3 was predicted with a 3.1% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that St Johnstone would win this match.