St. Johnstone come into this with plenty of control rather than chaos in their results, having drawn three of their last six in the league and kept their last two opponents scoreless. Their most recent outing was a 0-0 away at Partick Thistle, and that followed a run of tighter wins and draws that has rarely turned into a wide-open game.

Queen's Park have been a bit more uneven, with two wins, two draws and two defeats across their last six, and their latest trip ended in a 1-0 loss at Arbroath. They have found the net in most of those matches, but they have also been held down to one goal or fewer in several, which keeps their games from regularly escaping into high totals.

The league picture also leans toward restraint. St. Johnstone are top of the Championship with a 53-22 goal record, while Queen's Park sit seventh on 32-42, and the home and away splits point in the same direction: St. Johnstone have conceded only 10 goals at home all season, and Queen's Park’s away record is 17 scored and 26 conceded. That combination usually leaves less room for a goal-heavy afternoon.

There is some tension with the latest head-to-head meetings, because the two league games between them this season finished 1-1 and 4-3 to St. Johnstone, so the fixture has not been completely low-scoring. Even so, St. Johnstone are unbeaten in six league matches and have gone three straight without conceding, while Queen's Park have failed to score in their most recent league defeat and face a home defence that has been hard to break down.

My prediction is Under 3.5 Goals at 1/2. St. Johnstone have gone three league matches without conceding, their last six have included plenty of draws and narrow wins, and their home record is built on control rather than shootouts. Queen's Park’s away numbers are respectable but not explosive, and while the 4-3 meeting in November is the main warning sign, the broader profile still points to a total that stays below four.