Falkirk host St Mirren at Falkirk Stadium on 1 August 2026 in the opening fixture of the 2026/27 Scottish Premiership season and there's already a story baked into the fixture. Falkirk spent last season finding their feet back in the top flight and ended up sixth on 49 points from 38 matches. St Mirren, by contrast, had a miserable campaign that ended in 11th place and a white knuckle ride through the relegation playoffs, scraping past Partick Thistle 2-1 on aggregate. A team that outperformed expectations against a team that nearly didn't survive it, on the first day of a new season.
John McGlynn has been at Falkirk since May 2022, picking up multiple PFA Scotland Manager of the Year nominations along the way. His opposite number, Craig McLeish, took permanent charge of St Mirren in June 2026 on a three year deal after stepping up from interim duties following Stephen Robinson's departure in March. McGlynn has faced St Mirren several times during his tenure, though not frequently enough for the head to head to carry much weight.
Falkirk's pre season and League Cup run brought a five goal cup win over Edinburgh City but also a shootout exit to Alloa Athletic after a 1-1 draw and a 1-0 loss to Ayr United, with a 3-0 win over Stranraer rounding out a mixed set of results. St Mirren went three wins from four in League Cup Group C to top the group, their only slip a 1-0 defeat to Dunfermline in the final game.
St Mirren goalkeeper Ryan Mullen is sidelined with a hamstring or thigh injury and isn't expected back until around mid August, so Chapman starts between the posts. Falkirk are likely to line up in a 4 2 3 1 with Hogarth in goal, McMillan, Melniks, Henderson and McCann across the back, Krauhaus and Spencer holding in midfield and Parkinson, Sibbald and Ethan Ross behind MacIver up front. Ross MacIver and Ben Parkinson have been among the goals in pre season. St Mirren look set to go with Fraser, King, Gogic and Fieldson across the back, Phillips, Carr and new signing Samuel Ramos in midfield and Idowu, Sule and Mochrie in attack. Ramos has already contributed goals since arriving, Eseosa Sule leads the line and new captain Marcus Fraser anchors the defence.
McGlynn's Falkirk tend to sit in a compact shape before hitting on the counter, with midfield control and set pieces as their main weapons. McLeish's St Mirren spent last spring fighting for survival and that experience shapes how they approach a game like this. They also won both fixtures at Falkirk Stadium last season 2-1, which is a concrete reason to take them seriously here. The clearest structural tension is in midfield: Falkirk's two holding players, Krauhaus and Spencer, face St Mirren's three of Phillips, Carr and Ramos, a numerical mismatch that could leave the home side exposed if St Mirren control possession. Falkirk's wide men McMillan and McCann will need to find space behind Fraser and Fieldson, while MacIver and Parkinson look to test Gogic and King.
Falkirk have the edge in the long term head to head record but recent meetings have gone St Mirren's way with those back to back 2-1 wins at Falkirk Stadium. These fixtures average around 2.5 goals per meeting and six of the last eight have produced a winner rather than a draw.
St Mirren's away record at this ground and their stronger League Cup form give them a genuine basis for confidence. Both sides have shown they can execute from set pieces and with neither defence looking watertight during the League Cup, dead ball situations are worth watching.
St Mirren's cup form and that 2-1 record at Falkirk Stadium make them credible favourites here but Falkirk at home on opening day, with their fans back watching Premiership football, have plenty of motivation of their own. Both defences were regularly breached during the League Cup and that midfield overload for St Mirren could leave Falkirk exposed in behind. We're going 2-2.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
