Separated by four places in the Scottish Premiership table, St Mirren are favourites to close out the year with a positive result against Dundee in Sunday's gameweek 20 clash at the SMISA Stadium.
Stephen Robinson's men have claimed three wins on the trot, and they seek a fourth against a side entering the final round of 2024 aiming to avoid a fourth top-flight loss in a row.
Match preview
Rangers might have gone into Boxing Day undefeated in six matches (five wins), claiming four wins on the spin, but St Mirren had other ideas, inflicting a 2-1 loss on the second-placed outfit.
Oisin Smyth and Caolan Boyd-Munce scored either side of a Danilo equaliser to seal the Buddies' third Premiership win in a row, leaving them a point behind Dundee United in fourth before the final round of 2024.
While Robinson's troops are finishing the year strongly, it remains to be seen how sustainable outscoring the opponent is, with the Saints' victories by one-goal margins: 3-2 at St Johnstone and a pair of 2-1 wins over Ross County and Rangers.
Having kept just two clean sheets in 19 league rounds, St Mirren enter the 20th gameweek without a shutout since a goalless home draw with Ross County on November 2, highlighting their inability to keep opponents at bay for 90 minutes.
That statistic explains why they have conceded 30 goals this term, significantly more than every team in the league's top five: Celtic (four), Rangers (11), Aberdeen (25) and Dundee United (20) have all conceded fewer than Robinson's side.
Despite a miserable three-game losing run, struggling Dundee hope to profit from St Mirren's leaky rearguard on Sunday, keen to avoid losing a fourth consecutive match.
Tony Docherty's men might have accrued eight fewer points than the opponent they visit this weekend, even though they have conceded just three fewer goals, further magnifying the hosts' defensive vulnerability.
Nevertheless, the Dark Blues must find their shooting boots soon to give themselves any chance on Sunday and subsequently in 2025, after firing blanks in their recent losses to Hearts (2-0), Rangers (1-0) and Ross County (3-0).
The ongoing blanks have followed a previous run of scoring in five straight Premiership matches, which produced three wins and a pair of 4-1 victories over Hibernian and Motherwell.
That version of the Dundee-based club undoubtedly gives the Dee a chance of ending their three-match winless run against gameweek 20's opponents (two losses); however, their inefficient form could leave the ninth-placed side looking over their shoulder, with Ross County (18 points) one point behind and second-bottom Hearts three points adrift.
Team News
Scott Tanser missed the Boxing Day victory due to suspension, and the Englishman could return at wing-back for Sunday's final match of 2024.
Conor McMenamin, Mark O'Hara and Charles Dunne will be assessed after missing Thursday's win against the league's second-placed side.
Although he was replaced by eventual match-winner Boyd-Munce, no St Mirren player has matched Roland Idowu's two game-clinching strikes this term; only Rangers' Vaclav Cerny (four) and Celtic's Nicolas Kuhn and Arne Engels (three each) have outdone the 22-year-old.
While Dundee sustained no apparent Boxing Day injuries, the visitors will assess Joe Shaughnessy, Ziyad Larkeche, Clark Robertson and Scott Fraser before Sunday.
The Dee's goals have dried up in recent weeks, but Lyall Cameron notched three in two appearances preceding the team's ongoing drought, and the midfielder aims to rediscover that goalscoring touch this weekend.
The away side's joint-top scorer, Simon Murray, has netted as many as Cameron this term (four), though he last scored in early November (a 4-1 loss at Aberdeen).
St Mirren possible starting lineup:
Balcombe; Fraser, Gogic, Iacovitti; Bwomono, Smyth, Phillips, Tanser; Idowu, Mandron, Kiltie
Dundee possible starting lineup:
Carson; Astley, Portales, Koumetio; McGhee, Mulligan, Cameron, Robertson; Tiffoney; Palmer-Houlden, Murray
We say: St Mirren 2-1 Dundee
In-form St Mirren have gone seven Premiership matches without a clean sheet, and that sequence could continue despite Dundee's struggles.
Regardless, Robinson's team should marginally outscore the Dee to end 2024 with maximum points on home soil.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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