St Mirren and Aberdeen Set for Scottish Premiership Showdown
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St Mirren and Aberdeen will face off at the Smisa Stadium on Saturday afternoon in the second matchday of the Scottish Premiership Championship round. According to Sports Mole, the hosts are sixth in the standings with 42 points from 34 league outings, while the visitors are fourth in the league table with 53 points from their 34 fixtures.
Match Preview
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The Sports Mole report that St Mirren narrowly secured their third consecutive top half finish in the Scottish Premiership this season, as the Saints secured a final day victory to move ahead of Hearts and Motherwell and into sixth place. Although Stephen Robinson’s side will be pleased to have ensured another year in the Championship round, St Mirren are unlikely to secure European football, trailing fourth-placed Aberdeen by 11 points with only four matches remaining.
Aberdeen, however, come into the clash in superb form, having suffered just one defeat in their last 12 matches across all competitions, alongside eight wins and three draws. As Sports Mole notes, that marks a brilliant return to form for the Dons, who started the campaign unbeaten in their opening 16 matches before experiencing a miserable streak of 14 league games without a victory.
Team News
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The Sports Mole report that St Mirren are unable to call upon the services of Elvis Bwomono (calf) and Evan Mooney (ankle) due to ongoing injury issues, while the rest of the squad should be available for selection. Conor McMenamin came from the bench to score the equalising goal against Rangers last time out, and the forward could be awarded with a start ahead of Jonah Ayunga as a result.
As for Aberdeen, Ester Sokler (leg), Gavin Molloy (shoulder), Kristers Tobers (unspecified), Sivert Heltne Nilsen (eye) and Vicente Besuijen (unspecified) are ruled out through injury. Following the narrow 1-0 victory over Hibernian in the opening matchday of the post-split fixtures, Thelin could look to name an unchanged starting 11 on Saturday.
Possible Lineups
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The Sports Mole predicts the following lineups:
St Mirren possible starting lineup:
Hemming; Fraser, Gogic, Taylor; Alebiousu, Phillips, Boyd-Munce, O’Hara, John; McMenamin, Mandron
Aberdeen possible starting lineup:
Mitov; Jensen, Dorrington, Knoester, Shinnie; Palaversa, Clarkson; Morris, Gueye, Keskinen; Nisbet
Prediction
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The Sports Mole prediction is for a home victory, with a predicted score of St Mirren 2-1 Aberdeen. Aberdeen may appear the stronger side coming into the clash, but St Mirren boast an impressive record in this fixture – undefeated in the last eight home meetings with six wins and two draws – leading Sports Mole to expect a home victory.
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