St Johnstone will be looking to end their winless run when they welcome Dundee to McDiarmid Park for a matchday 13 clash in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday. 

The hosts are seventh in the standings with 14 points from 12 games, while the visitors are fifth with 17 points after 11 league matches.

Match preview

St Johnstone have enjoyed an encouraging start to their first season back in the Scottish Premiership following their Championship-winning campaign last season, which earned them an immediate promotion back to the top division.

Simo Valakari's side have won three, drawn five and lost four of their 12 fixtures to date, leaving them seventh in the standings with 14 points, five points above the bottom two and only two points behind the top six. 

The Saints are, however, enduring their longest winless run of the league campaign heading into this match, with St Johnstone failing to emerge victorious from any of their last four Scottish Premiership games, recording three draws and one defeat. 

St Johnstone's biggest issue during that run has been their vulnerability in defence, with nine of the 19 goals they have conceded in the league this season coming across those four matches, including a disappointing 4-0 defeat to Rangers. 

However, the Saints have also demonstrated a superb mentality and resilience, coming from behind to secure 2-2 draws with both Motherwell and Kilmarnock in their last two matches, including scoring twice with 10-men against Killie last time out. 

Eager to build on those results and avoid recording a fifth straight winless match, St Johnstone will be looking to secure their first home win since beating Hibernian 2-1 at the beginning of September, as well as aiming to defeat Dundee for the first time since October 2024, when they won 2-1 on the road.

Dundee, meanwhile, head into Saturday's fixture off the back of a confidence-boosting win against Kilmarnock, with Ashley Hay scoring twice in the final 10 minutes to secure the 3-1 victory for Steven Pressley's side. 

That victory lifted Dundee to fourth in the Scottish Premiership table with 17 points from 11 games, although they have since fallen behind Falkirk, following the Bairns' 2-0 victory against Celtic on matchday 12. 

Dundee's matchday 12 clash with Hibernian was postponed due to Hibs' involvement in the Scottish League Cup semi-finals, meaning the Dee have also been afforded three days extra rest than their hosts. 

Despite Dundee's superb start to the season, Pressley's side have face difficulties on the road, winning two and losing three of their five away fixtures in the Scottish Premiership. 

However, the Dee will be able to draw confidence from their formidable recent record at McDiarmid Park, having emerged victorious from each of their last three visits to St Johnstone's home ground, while they are also unbeaten in the last five away clashes with the Saints.

St Johnstone Scottish Premiership form:

Dundee Scottish Premiership form:

Team News

St Johnstone will remain without Sam Stanton and Zach Mitchell due to ongoing injury problems, while Tom Steward is suspended after his 13th-minute red card against Kilmarnock on matchday 12. 

Steward should be replaced by Ross Sinclair between the posts, with an unchanged back three of Cheick Diabate, Bozo Mikulic and Enes Alic likely to feature.

Meanwhile, Bobby Wales, Finlay Robertson and Simon Murray are all unavailable due to injury issues, while the remainder of the squad should be fit and fully rested after Dundee's matchday 12 match was postponed. 

Hay scored two late goals to seal the victory for Dundee in their last outing, and the striker should continue alongside Bradley Fink, with Joe Bevan and Alan Forrest providing support from the wings.

St Johnstone possible starting lineup:

Sinclair; Diabate, Mikulic, Alic; Todd, McAlear, Holt, Cotterill; Fowler, Steven; Schmidt

Dundee possible starting lineup:

Goodman; D Wright, J Wright, Astley, Samuels; Bevan, Jones, Hamilton, Forrest; Hay, Fink

We say: St Johnstone 1-2 Dundee

St Johnstone have a lacklustre recent record against Dundee, especially at home, and head into this match off the back of their longest Scottish Premiership winless run this term. 

Given Dundee have also had three days extra rest after their matchday 12 fixture was postponed, we are predicting the away side to secure all three points.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.