McDiarmid Park hosts a mid table collision on 19 September 2026 as St. Johnstone welcome Falkirk in Scottish Premiership Gameweek 7. St. Johnstone sit seventh with seven points from six games whereas Falkirk hover around tenth on roughly five and both sides arrive with reasons to want three points.
The managerial matchup is a first between Simo Valakari and John McGlynn. Valakari has been at St. Johnstone since October 2024, when he replaced Craig Levein, while McGlynn has had Falkirk in his charge since May 2022 after succeeding Martin Rennie. No tactical history between them means neither can rely on habit or prior adjustments, so this is as clean a read as you get on how two systems actually match up.
St. Johnstone arrive in mixed form across their last six games, a sequence of L-W-D-L-L-W that has kept them comfortable but not convincing. They lost narrowly at Celtic on 9 September, beat Hibernian 2-1 at home on 6 September and drew 1-1 at Dundee on 2 September. Falkirk's form reads worse on paper at W-D-L-L-D-L but their 2-1 win over Hearts on 15 September was their first league victory of the campaign, so they arrive with something to build on rather than something to paper over. Neither squad reports any notable absences, with both sides favouring a 4-2-3-1, setting this up as a clean structural battle without the usual caveat of disrupted selections.
Valakari has built St. Johnstone around a compact defensive block and fast counter attacking transitions, with Josh Fowler as the reference point up front. Fowler's four goals already this season say enough on their own and his movement between the lines will trouble Falkirk's centre backs whenever Saints win the ball in midfield and push quickly. The double pivot behind him shields the back four and the recent 2-1 home win over Hibernian showed exactly how this setup works at its best: absorb, stay organised and go.
McGlynn's Falkirk are built on almost the opposite premise, preferring to hold the ball and build deliberately through controlled possession. Ben Krauhaus, their top scorer, drops deep to receive ahead of St. Johnstone's double pivot and link play into the half spaces, while Owen Eames scored the winner against Hearts to give Falkirk that first league win. To impose their game here, Falkirk need to get Krauhaus on the ball regularly, which means their build up has to be patient and precise enough to bypass St. Johnstone's double pivot without conceding possession cheaply.
That midfield battle is probably where this game gets decided. If St. Johnstone's pivot disrupts Falkirk's progression, the visitors get pushed into longer passes and higher risk choices that suit Saints' counter structure. If Falkirk circulate the ball quickly enough to get Krauhaus and Eames combining in tight spaces, they can open up a home defence that has shown vulnerabilities this season. The head to head record between these clubs at the top level is too limited to tell us much, so the outcome rests almost entirely on who executes their plan under pressure.
Predicted score: St. Johnstone 2-1 Falkirk. Valakari's home setup has already shown it can frustrate better organised opponents and hit them through Fowler, who is in the kind of form Falkirk haven't had to deal with yet this season. St. Johnstone's home record and McDiarmid's familiarity make them the likelier side to stay disciplined and if the double pivot does its job, Falkirk won't get the sustained possession they need to set Krauhaus up. Krauhaus and Eames will get their chances but it is hard to see Falkirk keeping Fowler quiet for ninety minutes.
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?.
