St Mirren v Aberdeen: Lowdown on the Saints side – featuring Jayden Richardson – looking to maintain their strong home record against the Dons

Aberdeen return to Premiership duty hoping to carry on where they left off when they make the trip to St Mirren.

Jimmy Thelin’s side scored their first league goals and recorded their first league win of the campaign with a 4-0 rout of Dundee before the international break.

But SMISA Stadium has been a far from happy hunting ground for the Dons, who have lost on their last three visits to the home of the Buddies.

We assess the threat the Dons face, and the poor record they must end, if they want to record consecutive wins for the first time this season.

Form guide

You have to go back to February 29, 2020 for the last Dons victory in Paisley, a 2-0 win in the Scottish Cup quarter-final.

In the league, the run is even longer with Aberdeen having failed to win any of their previous 11 visits.

The last league win for the Dons was seven years ago when goals from Sam Cosgrove and Stevie May gave Derek McInnes’ side a 2-1 victory in December 2018.

It is not exactly encouraging for an Aberdeen side who won a first league game of the season at the seventh attempt before the international break.

But there is some cause for optimism for Thelin’s side as they bid to move off the bottom of the table this weekend.

Stephen Robinson’s St Mirren side have won only two of their opening seven games in the league and suffered their second defeat of the campaign in a 2-0 reverse at Kilmarnock before the break.

However, it should be noted their only other defeat has been the opening day loss to champions Celtic – and the Buddies have a Premier Sports Cup semi-final against Aberdeen’s conquerors Motherwell to look forward to next month.

Tactics

Robinson’s approach has been pretty consistent throughout his tenure. He has used a 3-5-2 formation to great effect, with his team able to quickly move into a 5-4-1 set-up when out of possession.

There is a strong emphasis on utilising pace from his wide players – one of whom is former Don Jayden Richardson.

Declan John carries the threat from the left wing-back position, while the Saints are also a threat at set-pieces.

Their high-pressing, aggressive approach has been hugely successful, especially at home, but it is all built on a strong defence, which is marshalled to great effect by Alex Gogic.

With Aberdeen having also switched to three at the back for the last three games, it will be fascinating to see how the Dons match-up against their hosts this weekend.

Key men

Saints striker Mikael Mandron leads the way for his club so far this season with six goals and four assists in 13 appearances, but only one of his goals has come in the league.

However, the Frenchman does enjoy playing against Aberdeen and has scored three goals in his previous two appearances against Thelin’s side.

Mandron has been supported well by midfield team-mate Killian Phillips.

The aggressive box-to-box Irishman, who spent the second half of the 2023-24 season on loan at Aberdeen from Crystal Palace, has five goals in 13 games so far this term.

[Source: Press and Journal]