St Johnstone and Hibernian renew acquaintances for the second time in three weeks when they square off at McDiarmid Park in round 34 of the Scottish Premiership on Saturday.
Having suffered a 2-1 defeat when the sides squared off three weeks ago, the Hibees will head into the weekend looking to get one over the hosts and pick up their first league win on the road this year.
Match preview
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St Johnstone were sent crashing back down to earth in their last outing as they suffered a somewhat disappointing 2-0 defeat at the hands of Kilmarnock on home turf.
In an action-packed contest, Joe Wright and Welsh striker Marley Watkins scored on either side of the half-time interval to inspire the visitors to their 13th win of the season.
This followed a 2-0 victory over Hibernian at Easter Road on April 6, when Adama Sidibeh and Tony Gallacher scored second-half goals to bring their run of two back-to-back defeats to an end.
With the loss against Kilmarnock, Craig Levein's men have failed to taste victory in any of their last seven home games, picking up five draws and losing four since scraping a 1-0 victory over Hibernian on December 16.
The Saints' poor home form has seen them crash into the relegation round as they picked up 39 points from 33 matches to end the first phase of the season in seventh place, just two points off the top six.
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Hibernian, on the other hand, were left spitting feathers in their final game before the league table split as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Motherwell at Fir Park last time out.
Myziane Maolida continued his fine form in front of goal as he converted his 65th-minute penalty to break the deadlock but Shane Blaney netted in the fourth minute of stoppage time to force a share of the spoils.
Prior to that, Hibernian saw their six-game unbeaten run come to an end on March 30 when they fell to a 3-1 loss against Rangers at Ibrox, one week before their 2-1 loss to St Johnstone.
Nick Montgomery's side picked up 31 points from 33 matches in the first phase of the Premiership, failing to book their spot in the Championship round for the third consecutive season since finishing fifth in 2021.
While Hibernian will be looking to return to winning ways and pull clear of the danger zone, they have struggled to get going on the road, where they are on a seven-game winless run, losing twice and claiming five draws since a 1-0 victory at Livingston on December 9.
Team News
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St Johnstone will have to cope without the midfield duo of Diallang Jaiyesimi and 29-year-old Sven Sprangler, who have been ruled out through knee injuries.
Scottish goalkeeper Ross Sinclair continued his lengthy spell on the sidelines through an arm injury and will also play no part in this weekend's matchup.
English midfielder Drey Wright has been out of action since coming off with a knee injury against Aberdeen back in October and is also out of contention for the home side.
Hibernian, meanwhile, will have to cope without forward Martin Boyle and defender Rocky Bushiri, who are currently suspended after crossing the yellow-card threshold with their bookings against Motherwell last time out.
On the injury front, Luke Amos (muscle), Owen Bevan (thigh) and Irish midfielder Jake Doyle-Hayes (ankle) are ruled out for the visitors as they continue their journeys to full fitness.
St Johnstone possible starting lineup:
Mitov; McGowan, Considine, Robinson; Keltjens, Kucheryavyi, Phillips, Smith; Gallacher, Sidibeh, Clark
Hibernian possible starting lineup:
Marshall, Cadden, Fish, Hanlon, Obita; Moriah-Welsh, Newell; Campbell, Marcondes, Maolida; Youan
We say: St Johnstone 2-0 Hibernian
St Johnstone and Hibernian will be looking to begin the relegation phase as they mean to go on and we anticipate a thrilling contest at McDiarmid Park. Levein's men are unbeaten in four of their last five games against the visitors and we fancy them to come out on top this weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Joshua Ojele
