Queen of the South boss James Fowler is hoping his side can recapture their early-season form when they welcome Morton to Palmerston on Saturday.
The Ladbrokes Championship game was originally scheduled for Boxing Day but was brought forward at the request of the clubs to fill a blank weekend caused by the international break.
Queens are a point above Jim Duffy's men in mid-table but their last win was 2-0 at Dumbarton on August 22 and they have failed to get the better of Morton in two previous clashes in Dumfries this season, losing 1-0 in the League Cup and drawing 2-2 in the Championship.
Fowler told the club website: "We’ve lost too many cheap goals in recent weeks so we’ve been working hard on ways to tighten up the defence and working at defending better as a team.
"Once we eradicate those errors, it gives us the opportunity to go and create more in the final third and a chance to turn those chances into goals and wins."