Dundee United are without the suspended Declan Gallagher after the centre-half was sent off late on against St Johnstone. Louis Moult and Craig Sibbald remain out. Aberdeen will be without long-term absentees Vicente Besuijen, Jack Milne and Pape Habib Gueye.

St Johnstone have consistently been embroiled in the fight for survival over the past three seasons, narrowly avoiding the drop on each occasion – a relegation play-off was required in 2021-22, while in 2022-23 and 2023-24, they finished just above the dreaded drop zone, relying on superior goal difference to outlast the teams below them.

On-loan Dundee United striker Tony Watt drops out of the Motherwell squad but Stephen O'Donnell is available to start after a hamstring injury. Tom Sparrow (ankle), Ross Callachan (hamstring), Paul McGinn (thigh),

Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin: "I thought we were really unfortunate to go in behind at half-time. I thought we were the better team throughout the game. "We had to press aggressively at the top end of the pitch and force them into errors.