AFTER a memorable night in Europe on Thursday, St Mirren must turn their attention to the Scottish Premiership as they welcome Hibernian to Paisley in their league opener.
St Mirren sealed their place in the third round of the Conference League on Thursday night, as they defeated Icelandic side Valur 4-1 on aggregate.
Following a goalless draw in the first leg in Reykjavík last week, Stephen Robinson’s men defeated their Icelandic counterparts 4-1 to set up a tie with Norwegian side Brann.
The Buddies will look to back up successive top-six finishes this term, as they finished sixth in 2022/23 and fifth in 2023/24.
Hibs ensured passage into the next phase of the Scottish League Cup, as they finished top of their group, above Queen’s Park on goal difference.
David Gray’s men were impressive in most parts, securing five-goal victories over both Elgin and Queen’s Park – before hitting Peterhead for six – but in between, they suffered a shock loss away at League One side Kelty Hearts.
The Hibees will look to improve on a disappointing campaign last season, as they finished in the bottom half in eighth position.
How the bookies view it: Tough One to Predict
The Bookies have found this difficult to call, with The Buddies slight favourites to collect all three points, with Betfred offering 6/4 on a home win. Hibs are a chunky 19/10 at Unibet to collect all three points, whilst William Hill are offering odds of 12/5 for a draw.
Head to head: Buddies Bogey Side For Hibs Last Term
This was a fixture St Mirren came up on top last season, with Stephen Robinson’s men picking up seven points from a possible nine against the Edinburgh club (W2-D1-L0). However, The Hibees did knock St Mirren out of the League Cup.
Players to watch: Boyle to Trouble The Buddies?
Mark O’Hara scored another stunner for St Mirren against Valur on Thursday night and is generally on penalties for The Buddies.
Martin Boyle is The Hibees main danger threat and has already struck three times in the group stages of the League Cup for the Leith side.
Probable line-ups
Stephen Robinson had the luxury of taking four of his players off for the final 20 minutes, so may opt to start a similar 11 to the one that started their victory over Valur.
Hibs bounced back from their shock loss away at Kelty Hearts by putting four unanswered goals past Peterhead, and I don’t imagine manager David Gray will make too many altercations.
St Mirren: Balcombe, Rooney, Fraser, Taylor, Brown, Adenrian, Gogic, O’hara, Ayunga, Olusanya, Idowa
Hibernian: Bursik, Miller, Ekpiteta, O’hora, Obita, Moriah-Welsh, Newell, Boyle, Campbell, Molotnikov, Vente
Anything else catch the eye?”
Goals were a feature in this fixture last season, with an eye-catching 18 goals scored across their three Premiership meetings and their League Cup clash.
Over 2.5 Goals landed in 4/4 (100%) of them, and another three-goal game appeals at 19/20 with Unibet.
Both Teams to Score also landed in 3/4 (75%) of the pair’s meetings last season but is a little short at 3/4 at Unibet. Combining that with Over 2.5 Goals pays 13/10 at Unibet for a chunkier price.
This Scottish Premiership match between St Mirren and Hibernian will be played on Aug 4, 2024 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best St Mirren vs Hibernian prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
