Preview: St Johnstone vs Kilmarnock - prediction, team news, lineups

St Johnstone will welcome Kilmarnock to McDiarmid Park on Sunday afternoon on matchday one of the 2026-27 Scottish Premiership season.

The newly-promoted hosts won the Scottish Championship last term, while the visitors finished 10th in the top division last campaign.

Match preview

St Johnstone's 16-season stay in the Scottish Premiership came to an end in 2024-25, as the Saints finished bottom of the table with 32 points from 36 league games.

Despite their relegation, St Johnstone kept faith in Simo Valakari, and their trust was repaid as the Finnish manager guided them to a superb 2025-26 Scottish Championship campaign.

Valakari's side lifted the league title with 77 points from 36 league games, after 22 wins, 11 draws and only three defeats, booking their place back in the top division.

The Saints maintained their title-winning momentum throughout pre-season, winning all of their three friendly fixtures, followed by back-to-back wins in their opening Scottish League Cup group games.

However, a defeat to Inverness CT - their first loss since January - and a draw with East Fife, followed by a defeat on penalties, saw St Johnstone fall to a third-placed finish in Group F, confirming their disappointing elimination from the League Cup.

Now eager to bounce back, Valakari will be hoping he can lead St Johnstone to their first opening day victory in the Scottish Premiership since beating Kilmarnock 2-1 in 2017-18.

Meanwhile, Kilmarnock endured a challenging 2025-26 Scottish Premiership campaign, battling for their survival for a large duration of the season.

Killie headed into the post-split term placed 11th in the standings and two points adrift from safety, but a superb run of four wins in their final four games meant they climbed above St Mirren and into 10th place.

Neil McCann, who was appointed in January and a large reason behind their gradual change in fortunes, has largely maintained their momentum at the start of this term.

After winning each of their two pre-season games, Kilmarnock won two and drew two of their four Scottish League Cup group fixtures - with one penalty win and one penalty loss.

Killie, as a result, finished top of Group H and secured their progression into the second round, where they have been drawn against Ayr United.

McCann will now be looking for his side to get their Scottish Premiership campaign off to a positive start, and Killie can draw confidence from their recent record in this fixture.

Kilmarnock have won four of their last six encounters, including a 2-0 victory in their last visit to McDiarmid Park.

St Johnstone form (Scottish League Cup):

W W L D

Kilmarnock form (Scottish League Cup):

D W W D

Team News

Ruari Paton has scored four goals in five matches since returning to St Johnstone in the summer, and the striker could lead the line on Sunday.

Paton is likely to be supported by Jamie Gullan, Sam Stanton and Logan Chalmers in forward areas, while Reece McAlear and Jason Holt should partner at the base of midfield.

Kilmarnock scored just two goals in their four Scottish League Cup group games, and McCann will be hoping a strike partnership of Joe Hugill and Tyreece John-Jules can prove more effective on Sunday.

Further back, summer arrivals Mark O'Hara and Bailey Rice should start in midfield, while Ethan Brown and Robbie Deas are anticipated to start in central defence.

St Johnstone possible starting lineup:

Steward; Smith, Mitchell, Diabate, Foulds; Holt, McAlear; Chalmers, Stanton, Gullan; Paton

Kilmarnock possible starting lineup:

Stryjek; Schjonning-Larsen, Deas, Brown, Bowie; Ring, Rice, O'Hara, Kiltie; John-Jules, Hugill

We say: St Johnstone 0-1 Kilmarnock

St Johnstone head into the game after a disappointing exit in the Scottish League Cup, while Kilmarnock are unbeaten in 90 minutes in their last 10 matches.

In addition, Kilmarnock boast a strong recent record against St Johnstone, while they also demonstrated their defensive strength with four clean sheets in the League Cup group stage, leading us to expect an away win and shutout for Killie.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.