St Mirren could cut the gap at the bottom of the Ladbrokes Championship to just one point when they face Ayr United at the Paisley 2021 Stadium.
The Buddies have faced Ian McCall's side five times this season with Saints coming out on top on three occasions, while the side couldn't be split on the other two.
The first match of the 2016/17 season at the Paisley 2021 Stadium took place against Ayr United in the Betfred Cup. Stevie Mallan saw a penalty saved by Greg Fleming with a little over ten minutes to go on a swelteringly hot July night. But the Buddies battled through the heat to secure the win when Jack Baird managed to bundle the ball over the line deep in to stoppage time.
Saints would need another late goal the next time the sides met over a month later. However, Tom Walsh's 89th minute header was only enough to rescue a point for St Mirren after Jamie Adams opened the scoring for Ayr early in the first half.
Jack Ross was in charge of Saints for the third meeting of the two and still searching for his first win as St Mirren manager when the Honest Men headed through to Paisley for the IRN-BRU Cup quarter-final. The hosts looked to be heading out of the competition when substitute Andy O'Connell fired Ayr ahead on 68 minutes. But the Buddies battled back to secure that first victory for Jack Ross as John Sutton scored two in two minutes
And Ian McCall's side were back in Paisley less than a month later with three points in the Ladbrokes Championship up for grabs. But both would have to settle for a share of the spoils with Sutton scoring late on
Late goals have been a theme in these matches with each of the five yielding at least one goal in the final ten minutes. This was no different in the fifth contest back in February when Lewis Morgan's 82nd minute strike sealed a 2-0 win for the Buddies after Sutton had put Saints ahead with his fourth goal in three games against United.
St Mirren have been in terrific form since that win, with three wins from five in the league. The Buddies overcame Queen of the South 2-0 at Palmerston in their last Championship match and will be desperate to positively react to last week's IRN-BRU Cup final defeat to Dundee United.
While Ayr chalked up two precious wins in recent weeks, defeating Dunfermline and Dumbarton. They did, however, lose 2-1 to Dundee United in midweek, but know how vital a win could be in their hopes of staying up.
Harry Davis, David Clarkson and Lewis McLear will miss out for St Mirren due to long-term injuries, while Gary Irvine is suspended. Rocco Quinn and Ben Gordon could be in line to return after playing a part in recent development squad matches with Cammy Smith and Josh Todd come back into the fray after being cup-tied for last weekend's final.
All signs point to another tight match and it would take a fool, an April fool if you will, to confidently predict the outcome of tomorrow's match. If either side can come away with the three points it could prove to be pivotal in the race to stay in the Championship.
