Preview: St Johnstone vs. Hibernian - prediction, team news, lineups

Both St Johnstone and Hibernian will be looking to get back to winning ways when they meet at McDiarmid Park on Saturday.

Just one point separates the two teams in the SPL at the moment, which will no doubt provide plenty of inspiration heading into this match.

Match preview

St Johnstone were in Scottish League Cup action last weekend, making this their first match back in the league since the international break and they will be keen to return to winning ways.

Callum Davidson's team ended up being knocked out in the semi-final by Celtic as they were narrowly defeated 1-0 after James Forrest scored in the second half.

However, The Saints did have a run of three games without a loss prior to that, although only one of those resulted in three points as they beat Dundee United.

Defensively, St Johnstone have been strong as of late, with two clean sheets in their previous four fixtures, while they only conceded one goal in each of the other matches.

Despite that, the club are sitting just four points above the relegation zone, which is something they will no doubt be wary of and shall be hoping to stay away from.

Hibernian were also in cup action last weekend; however, they went one step further than their opponents at the weekend and managed to secure a place in the final.

Jack Ross witnessed his team defeat the current league leaders Rangers 3-1 in a dominant display that saw Martin Boyle score a hat-trick, which blew the game away from the Gers.

However, they appeared to still be celebrating that result in midweek when they faced Ross County in the SPL, suffering a 1-0 defeat against the team at the bottom of the table.

To make matters worse, the Hibees had two players sent off in that game, including their talisman Boyle, which will cause them problems moving forwards.

That loss actually made it five in a row for the club when it comes to league football, which is form that Ross will be desperate to turn around immediately.

St Johnstone Scottish Premiership form:

St Johnstone form (all competitions):

Hibernian Scottish Premiership form:

Hibernian form (all competitions):

Team News

Glenn Middleton will be missing for the Saints on Saturday, which is something Davidson will have to get used to as the injury will take four to six weeks of recovery.

Meanwhile Stevie May shall also continue to be on the sidelines, stretching the St Johnstone squad even further.

The visitors will be missing both Boyle and Christian Doidge on Saturday due to suspension and that will see changes needing to be made to the starting XI.

Having two strikers unavailable could see a formation tweak, with Kevin Nisbet potentially leading the line alone, rather than with a partner this time around.

St Johnstone possible starting lineup:

Clark; Brown, Gordon, McCart; Booth, Bryson, Davidson, Wotherspoon, Rooney; Kane, O'Halloran

Hibernian possible starting lineup:

Macey; Hanlon, McGregor, McGinn; Cadden, Allan, Doyle-Hayes, Newell, Doig, Campbell; Nisbet

We say: St Johnstone 1-0 Hibernian

St Johnstone have been strong defensively in recent matches and considering Hibernian are missing one of their biggest attacking threats, they could be able to shut the door in this match.

While the game will no doubt be tight between two clubs that need to pick up some momentum sooner rather than later the Saints could edge this.

Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 2.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.