St Johnstone vs Dundee Prediction: The Dee to secure safety in Perth

Rock-bottom St Johnstone close out a disastrous 2024/25 season on Sunday (15:00) when they host Dundee FC at McDiarmid Park. While the Saints are bound for the Scottish Championship, 10th-placed Dee are on course for Scottish Premiership survival, but need to win this weekend to ensure they are not overtaken by Ross County, who currently occupy the relegation play-off position.

Below are my St Johnstone vs Dundee predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

St Johnstone quartet Zach Mitchell (hamstring), Drey Wright (ankle), Bozo Mikulic (knee) and Sam McClelland (Achilles) look set to miss out again on Sunday due to injury.

Head coach Simo Valakari could make a few changes to the side that began Wednesday's 2-1 defeat to Hearts, which confirmed their relegation to the Championship.

Football Odds

Veteran midfielder Graham Carey came off the bench at the start of the second half at Tynecastle, scoring a consolation in the 74th minute, and he could come in from the start on Sunday, as could fellow substitutes in midweek, Uche Ikpeazu, Sven Sprangler and 17-year-old Fran Franczak.

There were doubts over the fitness of Sebastian Palmer-Houlden heading into Wednesday's game, but the Dundee forward, on loan from Bristol City, started against Ross County and played 73 minutes before being withdrawn.

Jordan McGhee (Achilles) missed a fourth successive game for the Dee, and he remains sidelined this weekend.

Scott Tiffoney dropped down to the bench in midweek for the first time since March 7, but after coming on at the start of the second half and opening the scoring for Tony Docherty's side in the 55th minute, the 26-year-old looks likely to be restored to the line-up in Perth.

St Johnstone vs Dundee Odds

St Johnstone have lost five of their last six games across all competitions, and Valakari's charges are underdogs for this clash, with odds of 21/10 implying a 32.3% probability of success, while Dundee are 13/10, or a 43.5% chance, to win and stave off relegation in the process.

The draw is priced at 13/5, both teams to score at 8/13, and over 2.5 total goals at 4/5.

Match Result - Dundee @ 13/10

A draw should be enough to secure Dundee's top-tier status on Sunday, even if Ross County beat Motherwell, as the Staggies would need to win by at least seven goals to move above the Dee on goal difference.

Still, Docherty won't want to take any chances, as holding out for a draw could leave them prone to a late suckerpunch that could see them lose and sink to 11th.

Therefore, the visitors should be up for this one and go all out for the three points.

On the other hand, the Saints have nothing but pride to play for as they are guaranteed to finish in last place, so their motivation for a win should be much lower than that of their opponents, who beat them at McDiarmid Park on January 5.

Granted, Valakari's side beat Ross County last time out at home, but they still had a chance of survival then, and Wednesday's defeat at Tynecastle ended those hopes.

Dundee are winless in their last three games, losing the first two to Motherwell (1-2) and Kilmarnock (3-2), but they have two wins from their last four away matches, beating local rivals Dundee United 4-2 on March 16 and Hearts 1-0 on April 26.

The Dee have won on their last two trips to Perth, last losing at McDiarmid Park in October 2021, and they can create more fond memories there on Sunday.

Anytime Goalscorer - Simon Murray (DUN) @ 13/8

Dundee striker Simon Murray has scored 16 league goals this season, but hasn't found the net in any of his three appearances so far in May.

However, given Dundee's next highest scorer is Lyall Cameron (seven), I'm putting my faith in the Dee's trusty 33-year-old, who is level on goals with Celtic's Daizen Maeda and behind only Rangers forward Cyriel Dessers (17) in the Golden Boot race. Before Wednesday night, Murray and Maeda were in front, but Dessers' brace against Dundee United has put the Nigerian in the lead going into the final weekend.

Rangers and Celtic both play on Saturday, so Murray will know how many he has to score to collect the Golden Boot before he takes to the pitch at McDiarmid Park.

Murray has collective and personal objectives that he will want to achieve this weekend, and it could be his goal/s that drive the Dee to survival.

The Scot has scored in all three previous meetings between the sides this season, and I'm backing him to make it four in four here.

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