St Johnstone prepare for their relegation playoff tie in the Scottish Premiership with a trip to Hibernian on the final day of the regular season on Sunday.
The hosts have endured a torrid calendar year but have avoided being dragged into a relegation battle ahead of the final game, whilst the visitors have already guaranteed their playoff tie on May 20 despite earning victory in midweek.
Match preview
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Sunday's hosts Hibernian have endured a miserable 2021-22 campaign in the Scottish top flight, which has resulted in them competing in the bottom half of the table since the division split last month.
Despite picking up just one win in their last 10 league games though, Hibs have avoided a devastating drop out of the Premiership, and will not have to suffer the nerves of a playoff tie like their visitors will.
David Gray's side hit a new low on Tuesday night too - losing 3-1 at bottom-of-the-table Dundee - to leave them in ninth place heading into the final day.
The hosts can either climb or drop a place depending on the result at Easter Road, as well as those elsewhere too, but whatever happens, it has been a hugely disappointing season for the Edinburgh side.
Hibs will want to end their season on some kind of positive note however, and will be hoping to give the home faithful something to cheer about, although with just one home league win since the turn of the year, this has proven to be a difficult aim for the past several months.
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Meanwhile, visitors St Johnstone will be looking to take home all three points in order to build some momentum ahead of their playoff tie next Thursday.
The Saints did manage to end a four-game winless streak by seeing off Aberdeen 1-0 at McDiarmid Park on Wednesday evening, with Callum Hendry netting the only goal of a tight encounter.
Recording successive victories would therefore be the ideal preparation for Callum Davidson's side, who have improved significantly since the turn of the year, after previously recording just three victories of their first 22 Scottish Premiership games this season.
However, just three of their eight wins this campaign have arrived on the road, and with only nine goals scored from their previous 18 away trips, a solid back line is likely to be required to earn a result of any kind, as it was in midweek.
After failing to beat a struggling Hibs side in their previous three meetings this season, St Johnstone's task looks to be even more difficult on Sunday, although there could not be too many better opportunities to beat their hosts at Easter Road given the home side's form of late.
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Team News
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Hibs will assess the severity of Ryan Porteous's injury ahead of Sunday's final game, with the defender being forced off during the second half of their defeat in midweek.
Kyle Magennis and Kevin Nisbet are definitely ruled out though, whilst Chris Cadden and Christian Doidge are still labelled as doubts.
Should Porteous miss out at Easter Road, Jake Doyle-Hayes could be brought in from the start, with the midfielder potentially pushing captain Lewis Stevenson into the back four as a result.
As for the visitors, Tony Gallacher remains unavailable due to a broken foot that has ruled him out of the rest of the season some time ago.
The experienced Craig Bryson remains a doubt to return from an ankle injury, with the midfielder having missed the last five months for St Johnstone.
Following a decent display and result in midweek, Davidson could well name an unchanged starting 11, meaning Hendry and Glenn Middleton should continue their partnership in attack after combining for the only goal of the game against Aberdeen.
Hibernian possible starting lineup:
Macey; McGinn, Kiranga, Stevenson, Doig; Hayes, Newell; Clarke, Henderson, Jasper; Scott
St Johnstone possible starting lineup:
Clark; Cleary, Gordon, McCart; Butterfield; Rooney, M Davidson, Hallberg, Brown; Hendry, Middleton
We say: Hibernian 1-1 St Johnstone
With St Johnstone being required to provide a little more urgency in their bid to put together successive victories ahead of their crucial playoff, we can see them earning a rare point on their travels on Sunday.
Hibs will be out to put on an improved display in front of their home faithful for the final time, but we can see their hugely disappointing season ending with a frustrating result at Easter Road once more.
For additional data used by our team to analyse our suggesed result please click here.
Top tip
Matthew Tranter
