Seventh-placed St Mirren host a Kilmarnock side that are rooted to the bottom of the Scottish Premiership on Saturday, when a win for the hosts could see them climb above the likes of Rangers and Motherwell.
The two sides are on a winless run, though, and both have also been eliminated from the Europa Conference League in the play-off round to compound what has been a difficult start.
Match preview
St Mirren come into Saturday's game on the back of a 2-2 away draw at free-scoring Dundee, where goals from Toyosi Olusanya and Mikael Mandron earned the Buddies a point on the road.
Their last home outing, however, was much less rewarding, as they were resoundingly beaten 3-0 by Celtic courtesy of goals from Callum McGregor, Reo Hatate and Alistair Johnson.
The Buddies did start the season with two home wins on the bounce, though, with their 4-1 success over Icelandic outfit Valur in the Europa Conference League qualifiers being followed up with a 3-0 opening-day league victory over Hibernian.
Manager Stephen Robinson has been the manager of St Mirren since February 2022, and having guided his team to a fifth-place finish last season, Saturday's meeting offers Robinson the chance to beat the side that finished directly above his last term.
In the summer transfer window, St Mirren brought in forwards James Scott and Kevin van Veen to improve on their potency in front of goal, as well as defender Alex Iacovitti and goalkeeper Ellery Balcombe to shore up a side that conceded 52 goals in the league last season.
Kilmarnock, meanwhile, have endured a torrid start to their season, especially as they finished fourth last term and enjoyed wins over Celtic in the Scottish Premiership and League Cup, as well as league wins over Rangers and Aberdeen.
This season, though, has started off with just one win from their last 11 games, the most recent being a spirited 1-1 draw at home to Hibernian, where Bruce Anderson's last-gasp penalty salvaged a point for Killie.
Their only win this season has been a Europa Conference League third qualifying round game away to Norwegian outfit Tromso, where Joe Wright's early goal saw them qualify for the play-off round, which they would go on to lose to FC Copenhagen over two legs.
Derek McInnes has also seen his side lack discipline in their opening matches, with Stuart Findlay, Brad Lyons and Wright having all been sent off in games so far this season.
If Killie fans are looking for a crumb of comfort heading into Saturday's game, they can look to their results against St Mirren last season, in which they were unbeaten in four meetings, winning three of them.
- W
- L
- L
- D
- D
- L
- L
- L
- L
- D
- L
- L
- L
- D
- W
- L
- L
- L
- D
- D
Team News
St Mirren have a few injury concerns ahead of Saturday's clash with Kilmarnock, with Conor McMenamin (patella) and Greg Kiltie (ankle) being long-term absentees, although both could return to action next month.
Robinson has a fully-fit squad to pick from otherwise, with the likes of Jonah Ayunga and Iacovitti pushing for starts on the wing and in defence respectively, having both appeared off the bench in the 2-2 draw with Dundee.
Kilmarnock, meanwhile, will once again be without Liam Donnelly (knee) for the trip to St Mirren, with the versatile player being sidelined until October or possibly November.
Lyons does however return from suspension, but he is likely to start from the bench on Saturday, with David Watson and Liam Polworth hoping to start together again as they did in the 1-1 draw against Hibernian before the international break.
St Mirren possible starting lineup:
Balcombe; Fraser, Iacovitti, Taylor; Ayunga, Phillips, Gogic, O'Hara, Tanser; Olusanya, Mandron
Kilmarnock possible starting lineup:
O'Hara; Mayo, Wright, Findlay, Ndaba; Armstrong, Watson, Polworth, Kennedy; Vassell, Anderson
We say: St Mirren 1-1 Kilmarnock
Although Kilmarnock have made a poor start to their campaign, their three wins out of four against St Mirren last season could count for something, along with the fact that the home side are also looking for their first win over Killie in 10 games.
That being said, it would be a surprise if the away side were to leave St Mirren with all three points in the bag, so a draw could be on the cards here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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