St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright is under no illusions about the physical threat posed by Livingston, ahead of the sides’ meeting in the Premiership this weekend.
Livi were seconds away from beating Celtic for the second time this season on Wednesday, only for Tom Rogic to strike in injury time to rescue a point for the league leaders.
Gary Holt’s side fought hard as usual but had to settle for a point in the end, and will no doubt be looking for all three on Saturday.
Following Livi’s excellent result, Wright knows the Saints are in for a real scrap at McDiarmid Park, and pointed to three potential individual threats.
He told the club’s official website: “A win against Livi really helps us in terms of trying to get into the top half. Games are running out and all wins are extremely important.
“Livingston looked good last time out against Celtic. They’re a strong side with lots of physicality in their squad.
“They use long throws and can go direct with balls into the box from set plays. We can’t overlook the quality they have as well and they have players like [Steven] Lawless, [Craig] Sibbald and [Scott] Pittman who can hurt you from open play as well. They’ve got a good balance.”
A chance for St Johnstone
St Johnstone have managed to score at least two goals in four of their last five home matches, and Livingston have a poor record on their travels having won just once in their last 13 away matches.
It was a physically exerting encounter against Celtic for Livi and one wonders how much the game against the champions took out of Holt’s players.
It’s a good opportunity for the Saints to close the gap to sixth-placed Hibs, who have a potentially tricky game against Aberdeen at Pittodrie.