Ross County manager Malky Mackay is wary of a St Johnstone side who have rediscovered their firepower in recent outings.
Saints remain bottom of the table, but have taken four points from their last two matches since the sacking of Steven MacLean as manager.
New boss Craig Levein took charge of the side for the first time in Tuesday’s 2-2 draw against Motherwell.
Mackay feels the return of striker Nicky Clark, who has netted three goals in the last two matches, has been a pivotal factor in their return to form.
He said: “Again, you’ve seen a centre forward in Nicky Clark who has come back into the team and is clearly a goalscorer.
“They start scoring the week after Steven leaves. Timing is important.
“Alec Cleland had one game and now I think Andy Kirk is doing a fair bit of work there, so what Brechin were doing might come into play.
“They have the same group of players, and we’ll have to be very cautious because they have three experienced strikers with Stevie May as well.
“They scored early goals against Motherwell and Kilmarnock as well, so we’ll be in no doubt that it will be a tough game ahead.”
Staggies boss has sympathy for MacLean
County ran out 2-0 winners when the sides last met in August, with the Dingwall side two points ahead of the Perth outfit at present.
Mackay insists he has sympathy for MacLean, who was dismissed after failing to win any of the opening nine matches of the campaign.
He added: “I feel really disappointed for Steven MacLean, actually.
“He’s a good young Scottish coach and is on his pro-licence at the moment. He’s one of the guys at the Scottish FA who is doing well.
“We need to keep producing good, young Scottish coaches and they need time, which I don’t really think Steven has been given.”
County will be without right back James Brown, who was red carded in the early stages of last weekend’s 3-0 defeat to Celtic.
The Staggies boss is encouraged with the flexibility he has within his squad, adding: “It’s unfortunate we lose him.
“He is out now, and he has been an ever-present. He has settled in really well, but Connor Randall stepped into that area for the rest of the game, and we’ve got other people who can now step into that.
“We have a group that one can go out and another comes in, and I’m not actually thinking we are going to be light in that area, which is great.”
County will welcome Josh Reid back into the squad after recovering from a toe injury. Josh Sims is also fit following a back problem, however he is doutbful for this weekend’s match due to personal reasons.
Winger Jay Henderson remains sidelined with a hamstring injury, along with long-term cruciate ligament absentees Ross Callachan and Ben Paton.
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