MATCH PREVIEW: ABERDEEN VERSUS SAINTS

PHOTO: Joe Shaughnessy is in line to come up against his former side for the third time this season in a competitive match.

Although the performance in last weekend's league victory wasn't exactly out of this world, a midweek defeat at Firhill has brought St. Johnstone back down to earth.

Last Saturday, a 2-1 comeback win against Motherwell put an end to Saints' nine-match slump in all competitions. That important result encouraged a renewed sense of belief. On Tuesday night, however, Partick Thistle showed ruthlessness in the final third. Second-half goals from Kris Doolan and David Amoo delighted the Partick supporters who, upon arrival at the stadium, had been presented with artistic cushions to make their match-viewing experience as comfortable as possible. On the contrary, St. Johnstone supporters will be feeling increasingly less comfortable as their team's 3-point cushion over 7th placed Inverness continues to be reduced.

Speaking more positively, St. Johnstone are still in the top six. They sit in 5th, having played one match fewer than Ross County (currently in 4th place). The Scottish Premiership continues to be an incredibly tight competition. Despite Saints' poor run of form, they remain in a promising league position. In short, this season still has the potential to be a successful and memorable one for St. Johnstone.

Saints' general play at Firhill was, rather frustratingly, more pleasing on the eye than it had been at McDiarmid during that 2-1 victory over Motherwell last week. Tommy Wright's team ultimately paid the price for a lack of final product in attacking areas and (most damagingly) a couple of defensive lapses.

St. Johnstone now face a challenging away trip to Aberdeen. The two teams will meet at Pittodrie tomorrow afternoon in an intriguing league encounter (3pm kick-off). Derek McInnes' Aberdeen side are in the midst of another impressive season, although a recent 3-1 league defeat against Inverness has put something of a dent in their title aspirations. They are comfortably perched in 2nd place, eleven points above Hearts and six points behind league leaders Celtic. The Dons have only lost one of their last thirteen league clashes.

Saints will be hoping for a repeat of their remarkable 5-1 victory at the start of October. Brian Easton scored the pick of the goals, blasting an incredible long-range effort into the back of the net. Having recently been suffering from a foot injury, Easton may be in line for a return to the match-day squad. We will see a rearranged midfield set-up at Pittodrie, as neither Chris Millar nor Murray Davidson will make it. The former is expected to be out of action for at least a month.

Aberdeen have the slightly more favourable record in the ten most recent head-to-heads against St. Johnstone (in the league). The Dons have won on five occasions, with two draws and three Saints victories. Of course, the two teams met at McDiarmid Park as recently as February 6th. A stirring comeback attempt wasn't enough to prevent Aberdeen from sealing a 4-3 win in an entertaining match.

If they are fated to witness a similar level of entertainment with a different result on this occasion, the travelling Saints supporters will surely consider this to be a day well spent! Over the last couple of years, Tommy Wright's men have developed a predilection for performing well when the odds are against them. With your help, they'll be aiming to do it again. Come along to Pittodrie tomorrow afternoon as Saints prepare for another important league match, looking (once again) to gain control in the race for 4th place. Come on ye Saints!

match preview by Ollie Wale

Saints fans travelling to Pittodrie on Saturday will be allocated the usual away section of the South Stand with the following admission prices in place:

Adult - £25 65 and over - £19 Full time students/75 and over - £15 U18 - £10 U12 - £6