St Johnstone v Hibs preview: Scottish Premiership team news, referee, starting XI, how to watch, match odds

Hibs travel to St Johnstone this weekend for the first of three must-win away games as they target that third spot.

Paul Hanlon of Hibs vies for the ball with St Johnstone's David Wotherspoon during the last meeting between the two team

Last weekend brought contrasting fortunes for the two teams with Hibs meekly beaten 2-0 at home by Motherwell, while the Saints won the Betfred Cup with a 1-0 win against Livingston.

It will be the fourth time the teams have met this season with one victory apiece and a draw in the previous three encounters.

Hibs won at McDiarmid early in the season, while the Saints earned a 2-2 draw at Easter Road in November, before triumphing 3-0 in the Betfred Cup semi-final at Hampden.

Guy Melamed earned Saints a draw midweek at Hamilton and this weekend three points for the hosts would give their top-six hopes a real shot in the arm.

A win for Hibs would surely be huge in the race for third place.

Team news: As things stand, Jack Ross could have virtually a full squad to choose from, with Sean Mackie and Kyle Magennis the only players who are almost certain to miss out. Josh Doig should hopefully recover from the knock that kept him out of the 2-0 defeat by Motherwell, while some players were touch and go as of Thursday morning.

Possible line-up (3-4-1-2): Marciano; P McGinn, McGregor, Hanlon; Cadden, Irvine, Gogic, Doig; Boyle; Doidge, Nisbet. Subs from: Macey, Gray, Stevenson, Porteous, Newell, Hallberg, Wright, Allan, Murphy, Bradley.

Match details: Saturday March 6; kick-off 3.00pm, McDiarmid Park, Perth

How to watch: St Johnstone are offering a pay-per-view option on their in-house TV channel – details here.

Key stat: St Johnstone have won just three home league games this season; two against St Mirren and one against Kilmarnock.

Hibs have lost just three times on the road, losing 3-0 to Celtic, 2-0 to Aberdeen, and 1-0 to Rangers.

Referee: David Dickinson takes charge of this encounter backed up by Drew Kirkland and John McCrossan, with John Beaton named fourth official. The 41-year-old is making his Scottish Premiership bow, having previously overseen games in the Championship, League One, League Two, Betfred Cup, Challenge Cup, and Scottish Cup.

In 62 games across all competitions he has dished out 224 yellow cards, five reds, and awarded 22 penalties.

Match odds: St Johnstone 7/4 Draw 2/1 Hibs 7/4 (odds supplied by McBookie).

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