ST JOHNSTONE face a huge game on Saturday against a deflated Hibs in the first set of games in the bottom six after the Scottish Premiership split.
Craig Levein got an immediate bounce when he took charge of the Saints, but they are in a real fight for survival now. They remain one point clear of Ross County, who are in the relegation play-off spot.
Saints curiously seem to play much better away from Perth and their last three wins in the league were all away from McDiarmid Park at Ross County, Aberdeen and Hibs.
Former Hearts boss Levein lapped that win at Easter Road up all right, but he must be concerned they haven't won a home game this year. In fact, their last was also against Hibs in the middle of December.
Hibs handed under pressure boss Nick Montgomery the dreaded vote of confidence last week after a seriously underwhelming season where they failed to get in the top six.
They are woefully inconsistent and have won just one game in their last six and that was against doomed Livingston at home. With serious investment coming into the Leith club in the summer, Montgomery needs to quickly show he has what it takes to invest it wisely.
How the bookies view it
Hibs are surprisingly strong favourites here at odds-on nearly everywhere although Coral will stick their necks out and offer evens.
St Johnstone are 3/1 with Boylesports and the draw is 13/5 with McBookie.com.
Recent head to heads
Hibs won the first meeting of the season back in September, but since then Saints have had the upper hand with wins in Perth and in Leith. Hibs have only won one of the last five meetings.
Players to watch
Adama Sidibeh became something of a hero to Saints fans when he scored in consecutive games against Dundee and Hibs. He is 3/1 to score anytime with bet365.
Myziane Maolida has been a huge success since joining on loan from Hertha Berlin. He has seven goals in his 11 league starts and four in five games. So it's somewhat surprising he is as big as 4/1 to score anytime with bet365 especially as he has taken penalties too.
Anything else catch the eye?
Hibs are far too flaky to be backing at odds-on or evens and the call here is for Saints to continue their recent good form against Hibs and get at least a draw, which couldn't be a bad result. So back them on the double chance market at 10/11 with Boylesports.
The visitors have got little to play for and can play without pressure. That could lead to goals with Montgomery out to try and win by some credit by entertaining the fans.
Both sides have seen over 2.5 goals in four of their last five games and bet365's evens is a decent price.
This Scottish Premiership match between St Johnstone and Hibernian will be played on Apr 27, 2024 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best St Johnstone vs Hibernian prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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