St Johnstone v Hibs: Team news, referee, key battles, likely line-ups

Hibs travel to Perth on Sunday seeking a return to winning ways after last Saturday’s Easter Road draw against Motherwell.

Jack Ross’s side remain unbeaten and are still to concede a goal from open play in their opening four matches and are joint-top of the Scottish Premiership on points.

Hibs’ last visit to St Johnstone was memorable as striker Christian Doidge finally opened his league account in green and white and netted a hat-trick in a 4-1 win back in November last year.

That was the most recent competitive meeting between the two clubs. The coronavirus pandemic forced the shutdown of Scottish football fewer than 24 hours before Hibs were due to host the Saints in March.

St Johnstone have had a mixed start to the campaign with a win, a draw, and two defeats. Former Hibee Liam Craig earned them a point in the opening-day encounter with Dundee United at Tannadice before a 3-0 reversal against Rangers at Ibrox. Two goals in the last five minutes from another former Easter Road face in David Wotherspoon, and an injury-time strike by Michael O’Halloran gave Callum Davidson’s side a come-from-behind win against Kilmarnock last weekend and on Thursday night a Ryan Hedges goal gave Aberdeen a 1-0 victory at McDiarmid Park.

Team news

Stevie Mallan returned to the squad against Motherwell last time out and was an unused sub, while Sean Mackie featured in a midweek bounce game against Livingston as the left-sided player looks to return to full fitness following a broken foot. Former St Johnston winger Drey Wright has been struggling with a thigh strain and likely won’t feature.

St Johnstone could be without up to four players for the match. Goalkeeper Zander Clark is currently sidelined and Elliot Parish is expected to continue between the sticks. Central midfielder Murray Davidson is also nursing an injury while forward pair Stevie May and Chris Kane could also miss out.

Likely line-ups

Jack Ross could well stick with the 4-4-2 formation that served him well at Livingston and Dundee United for another away match. The strategy didn’t have the desired effect against Motherwell last week but Hibs played a 4-4-2 last time at McDiarmid Park and reaped the rewards.

Hibs: Marciano; McGinn, Porteous, Hanlon, Doig; Boyle, Gogic, Newell, Horgan; Nisbet, Doidge. Subs from: Dabrowski, Gray, McGregor, Stevenson, Hallberg, Allan, Mallan, Stirling, F Murray, Gullan.

Callum Davidson has opted for a 3-4-3 set-up in three of St Johnstone’s four matches so far including the side’s only home game to date.

St Johnstone: Parish; Kerr, McCart, Gordon; McNamara, Craig, McCann, Tanser; Wotherspoon, Hendry, O’Halloran. Subs from: Sinclair, Duffy, Conway, Olaofe, Rooney, Robertson, Ballantyne, Booth, Northcott.

Key battles

Michael O’Halloran scored a late winner against Kilmarnock last weekend and although the forward was unable to repeat his heroics on Thursday night, he could cause Hibs problems on the left of a front three. Paul McGinn, who has been impressive at right-back for the Capital club, will have to keep a close eye on the former Scotland Under-21 cap.

Alex Gogic has played a key role in Hibs’ strong start to the season and he could be tasked with keeping tabs on St Johnstone’s impressive midfielder Ali McCann. The 20-year-old contributed four goals and two assists from his 29 matches last season and will be looking to supply the Saints forwards with ammunition. Gogic could be the man to keep McCann quiet.

Christian Doidge scored three on his last, and so far only, visit to McDiarmid Park and will be hopeful of getting on the scoresheet again. Liam Gordon is likely to be handed the unenviable task of marking the Welshman and will hope for a better afternoon than the one experienced by Wallace Duffy and Jason Kerr on November 9 last year.

Form guide (most recent result on left)

Hibs: DWWW

St Johnstone: LWLD

Referee

John Beaton has been tasked with overseeing this game. The referee took charge of Hibs’ opening-day victory against Kilmarnock, and returns for his second fixture of the season involving the Easter Road side. He will be assisted by Drew Kirkland and Graham Chambers with Steven McLean handling fourth-official duties.

Magic number - 7

Hibs and St Johnstone have met 21 times at McDiarmid Park for competitive matches with Hibs winning seven, drawing seven, and losing seven.