After another weekend of thrilling SPL action, Monday sees St Johnstone host Aberdeen in what is sure to be a thoroughly entertaining encounter with both sides looking to play exciting, attacking football (St Johnstone 6/5, draw 9/4, Aberdeen 23/10 – Match Prices).
All the focus will be on new Saints boss Steve Lomas, who was appointed to the role last week following the departure of Derek McInnes to Bristol City, and he’ll be hoping his side can give him the perfect start to his reign at McDiarmid Park.
St Johnstone currently sit fourth in the SPL table and have been one of the league’s surprise packages this year and so will be confident going into the game against their lowly opponents.
As a player Lomas was well known for his determination but was also a highly competent midfielder with a lot more skill than people gave him credit for and he will surely be looking to mould the Perthshire club in his image.
Key to this could be ex-Chelsea man Jody Morris, who like his new boss is known for his ability to mix tenacity with skill and is almost always at the forefront whenever St Johnstone do anything positive.
The skipper is always the first name on the team-sheet and his performance will be vital if Lomas is to get off to the perfect start.
Another of St Johnstone strength is their strike duo of Cillian Sheridan (3/2 to score at anytime) and Francisco Sandaza (11/8 to score at anytime) who have notched nine goals between them this season and have struck-up a superb understanding in the short amount of time they’ve been together. Both will be looking to fire their side to victory and make a good impression on the new boss.
However, Aberdeen won’t simply roll over and have some exceptionally talented players themselves and are capable of beating anyone on their day. The Dons have struggled so far this season and currently sit 11th in the table.
Boss Craig Brown is a wily old character and knows how to motivate struggling teams and will fancy his chances of getting his players in the right frame of mind ahead of the match.
Their key player is more than likely to be talismanic striker Scott Vernon (15/8 to score at anytime) who has struggled to rediscover his form of last season but will be determined to find the net again.
However, it seems as if the script is written for Lomas and it’s hard to see anything other than a home win but it will undoubtedly be a tight game.
On paper St Johnstone have a much stronger line-up and, with Sheridan and Sandaza leading the line, should have enough to overpower their opponents.
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