At stake is a place in the third round of the League Cup - but this is about much, much more than that. This is about local pride, the chance to get one over on your rivals. And Saints have more to lose than most, having gone over 12 years and six games since their last Renfrewshire derby defeat. Then there's the fact we are the SPL side, although it wouldn't be that big a shock if we lose as we nearly always screw up when we come face to face with a lower league team in the cup.
Cappielow is far from the most palatial ground in the world, but it is the perfect location for a cup tie and could provide the ideal location for a cup upset. It was buzzing in 2007 when Morton knocked Kilmarnock out of the Scottish Cup and it will be absolutely jumping tomorrow night. The old Cowshed will be jam packed and the Wee Dublin End will be pretty poor with Saints fans. As I said in last week's column, ignore anyone who claims Morton aren't are rivals and don't matter. They are and they do.
Saints have won a lot of plaudits for playing nice, attractive football this season with lots of lovely passing moves. That approach yielded a 4-2 win over Morton in the Renfrewshire Cup Final. However, while it's the same opposition, this may be a game where all that needs to go out the window. This is roll up your sleeves stuff and get dug in, a real blood and guts affair. It almost certainly won't be pretty - and that's not just because of the home support - and this is the sort of match Jim Goodwin should revel in. Hopefully the fact this is a derby means we won't need to be worried about the players being fired up. If they're not, Saints fans Steven Thompson and Marc McAusland will hopefully put that right.
Thompson took his tally for the season to two on Saturday and also bagged a brace against Morton in the Renfrewshire Cup final last month. That's the sort of form he'll need to continue if we're to make it through and it's likely he'll be rejoined by Nigel Hasselbaink. The pint-sized striker has been missing for the last two games but is now available again and will almost certainly go straight back into the side. Kenny McLean will be the one to make way after Steven Thomson joined his near namesake on the scoresheet last week.
That's likely to be the only change, despite the recent arrival of Ilias Haddad. McAusland seemed to do well on Saturday at the scene of one of last season's rightback horror shows so looks set to keep his place, with the Dutchman having to make do with a place on the bench again. His former Telstar team-mate Jeroen Tesselaar has already established himself as a fans favourite in the last few weeks and another good display is expected from him tomorrow. Still on the sidelines are Hugh Murray, Darren McGregor and Aaron Mooy - although Greenock boy David Barron could be involved.
Morton are going along quite nicely in the first division so far. I suggested in the Renfrewshire Cup preview they would have a chance at winning the first division (although not promotion due to the state of Cappielow) and they are going about proving that so far. A win over Livingston - who are also seen as dark horses - is not to be sniffed at. In the cups they've been rattling in the goals, with an eight goal haul against Stranraer the pick of the lot. Allan Moore has got things ticking along nicely and his focus now will be on keeping it that way.
While we welcome back someone who has come through PSV's youth system, Morton will have a midfielder who came through PSG's. Many Morton fans seem to rate Fouad Bachirou quite highly and were delighted when he signed a new contract over the summer. He is a great tackler and passer and could be in his element in a game like the one he'll be involved in tomorrow night. He could well be the danger man.
If it's not him, we’ll have to watch out for Peter MacDonald. When he wasn't trying to kill Andy Millen, he was usually quite good against us and scored on a few occasions. He was linked with us over the summer but ended up at Morton and should be a good acquisition for them. Andy Jackson was another striker linked with us over the summer who decided to follow MacDonald to Greenock and scored four goals in that cup game against Stranraer. So too did Paul di Giacomo, who is actually Scottish despite his name! Peter Weatherston bagged two against us in the Renfrewshire Cup this year and has to be watched.
In recent years Morton have made a habit of signing former Saints - like Stewart Kean, Alan Reid and David van Zanten - but currently don't have any on their books. This is a good thing because it means there isn't any danger of one of our former players scoring against us. Sadly - aside from Vanzy - we don't have any former Morton players so can't exactly rely on that either. I hope to god we can make it through because we won't hear the end of it if we don't - but you can never, ever take Saints for granted, especially when it's a cup tie.
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