St Johnstonevs.Hibernian

The home side are rooted to the bottom of the table in 12th place with just 14 points and were beaten 4-0 by Celtic on Sunday, while the away team emerged as 1-0 victors against Kilmarnock on December 29 and are seventh with 24 points.

Match preview

While most teams in the top flight would struggle to avoid defeat against champions Celtic, St Johnstone only produced one shot in the entire game and faced 30 attempts themselves, as well as six big chances and 20 shots from inside the box.

The hosts were also beaten 2-0 by Hibernian in the league on September 14, a match in which they failed to create any big chances and had just one effort from inside the box.

Boss Simo Valakari's side have conceded 40 goals and scored just 22 times in the Scottish Premiership, and these are the division's worst defensive and second-worst offensive records.

The Saints are in dire form having been defeated in eight of their 10 most recent fixtures, including in each of their last four.

Valakari's fortunes at McDiarmid Park have not been much better considering his team have lost seven of their past nine games at home and have in fact lost 12, drawn four and won just two of their last 18 matches at home.

Meanwhile, Hibernian dominated their clash against Kilmarnock, producing nearly 2.5 xG, creating three big chances and limiting their opponents to just 0.25 xG across the 90 minutes.

Manager David Gray will be pleased that his side are only three points behind sixth-placed Motherwell, who occupy the league's final title playoff spot.

Gray's team have scored 15 of their 31 league goals in their last seven outings, while they have conceded nine of the 27 goals in that period.

Hibs' record of late has been excellent, with the club having triumphed in each of their last four games and only losing once in their past eight matches.

The visitors' form away from home has been good considering they have won three of their last four on the road, but it should be noted that they lost six and drew two of their previous eight away outings.

St Johnstone Scottish Premiership form:

L

D

L

L

L

L

Hibernian Scottish Premiership form:

W

L

W

W

W

W

Team News

Given St Johnstone will be without centre-back Sam McClelland, fans will likely see a back three consisting of Jack Sanders, Kyle Cameron and Bozo Mikulic.

Valakari could start Aaron Essel, Sven Sprangler and Matthew Smith in a midfield three in light of Cameron MacPherson's absence.

Striker Uche Ikpeazu is scheduled to return from injury early next month, but until he makes his comeback, Nicky Clark and Mackenzie Kirk can be expected to appear up front on Thursday.

Hibernian forward Kieron Bowie is ruled out, while striker Mykola Kukharevych is a doubt, so perhaps Martin Boyle and Junior Hoilett will partner each other in attack.

Centre-back Jack Iredale was substituted as a result of injury last time out and joins Marvin Ekpiteta on the sidelines, and this could mean that boss Gray starts Lewis Miller, Rocky Bushiri Kiranga and Jordan Obita in the backline.

Attacking midfielder Rudi Allan Molotnikov is a doubt, while midfielder Joe Newell was forced off last time out, and this may lead Gray to start Kwon Hyeok-kyu and Nectarios Triantis behind attacker Josh Campbell.

St Johnstone possible starting lineup:

Rae; Sanders, Cameron, Mikulic; Franczak, Essel, Sprangler, Smith, Raymond; Clark, Kirk

Hibernian possible starting lineup:

Smith; Miller, Kiranga, Obita; Cadden, Triantis, Kwon, Cadden; Campbell; Boyle, Hoilett

We say: St Johnstone 0-3 Hibernian

Hibs should come into Thursday's clash as strong favourites given their impressive form in the past weeks, and it would not be surprising if they continued their fine goalscoring record.

Written by

Lewis Nolan

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