St Johnstone will be hoping to steal a march on their closest Scottish Premier League rivals as they host Aberdeen.
It's seventh versus eighth at McDiarmid Park
St Johnstone will be hoping to steal a march on their closest Scottish Premier League rivals as they host Aberdeen.
The seventh-placed Saints hold a one-point lead over eighth-placed Aberdeen plus a game in hand, and victory would put them in a strong position to finish above the Dons.
Mark McGhee's side are without a win in their last nine outings though, while Derek McInnes's team's failure to keep a clean sheet in the last eight promises an intriguing encounter.
Graham Gartland returns to the St Johnstone squad for the McDiarmid Park clash. The Saints defender missed Saturday's win over Falkirk with a virus but has recovered.
Steven Anderson, Martin Hardie and Peter MacDonald (all knee injuries) and Stuart McCaffrey remain out while captain Kevin Rutkiewicz has recovered from his own knee problem but is not yet ready.
Davide Grassi returns from suspension for Aberdeen, who have no fresh injury worries for the crucial contest. However, Peter Pawlett (knee) and Andrew Considine (hip) remain long-term absentees.
