Scottish Championship: Ayr United v St Johnstone
Place: El Somerset Park date: Friday, December 12 kick off: 19:45 (GMT)
Coverage: Live on BBC Scotland, BBC iPlayer and online
This weekend marks the halfway point of Scotland’s Championship season, with the top four teams all going head-to-head, but the big question is – can St Johnstone retain top spot?
Perth, who were relegated from the Premier League last season, have been at the top of the table since the starting gun, but what once looked like a parade is now anything but.
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St Johnstone are currently level on points with Partick Thistle, albeit with a greater goal difference advantage.
But they lost to Glasgow three weeks ago and have not won any of their past three games.
That includes being knocked out of the Scottish Cup by League 1 side Cove Rangers, with manager Simo Valakari admitting they must adapt their style.
“We have our own way of playing at the start of the season and maybe our opponents are not as familiar with it [with it],” he said.
“Now they’re starting to understand how we want to play and how they can stop that. Likewise, we need to develop our stuff to counter what our opponents do.
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“The fundamentals and fundamentals of what we do are at a good level. Now, we need to make some adjustments – when we attack, how do we be more balanced in defense, attack the penalty area, how do we find the final pass.”
“The foundation is there, the foundation is there, the principles are there.”
St Johnstone face fourth placed Ayr United at Somerset Park tonight. Currently 11 points behind the leaders, Scott Brown’s side will certainly need a win if they are to keep their title ambitions alive.
While St Johnstone’s midweek match between KDM Evolution and Hearts B was postponed due to high winds in Edinburgh, Ayr’s match against Peterhead went ahead, with the Honest Men winning 2-1.
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The good news for Ayre was that forward Anton Dodds scored his first goal of the season, having missed the year with an ACL injury. The 29-year-old did not return to action until September.
Dodds was one of the Championship’s hottest forwards before injury last season and Brown is clearly hoping he can return to that form between now and the end of the season.
Thistle will watch tonight’s proceedings with interest. Any mistakes from the Saints would give them a chance to take top spot on Saturday.
However, it will be far from simple for the Jaguars as they head north to take on third-placed Arbroath.
