St Johnstone v Inverness CT predictions: Saints should prove too strong

Free football tips, best bets & analysis for St Johnstone v Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Scottish Premiership playoff final second leg on Monday.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Football & Main Event, 7.45pm Monday

Best bet

St Johnstone & over 2.5 goals
1pt 23-10 general

Match preview

This Scottish Premiership playoff final is delicately poised after a 2-2 draw in Friday's first leg but things were much more one-sided than the scoreline suggests.

St Johnstone, looking to preserve their top-flight status against Inverness, dominated proceedings at the Caledonian Stadium and will expect to finish the job on Monday.

Callum Davidson's side outshot their Championship opponents 24-6, with seven hitting the target, and they were almost left to rue their missed chances.

The Premiership side raced into a 2-0 first-half lead but were pegged back by a spirited comeback from Thistle, who scored with their only shots on target late in the second period.

Prior to the first leg, St Johnstone had won four of their last five meetings with Inverness, while each of the last three featured three goals, and Davidson was bullish about his side following Friday's match.

"For the first 60 minutes, we were outstanding. It's probably a little bit disappointing we didn't score more goals. It goes back to McDiarmid Park and it's up to us to win the game.

"We need to go and perform like that on Monday. If we do, we'll be confident we can win the game. It's one game so let's go," he said.

This match has effectively become a cup final and last season's double cup winners, St Johnstone, look primed to claim more success, albeit of a different nature.

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