St Johnstone host Hibernian at McDiarmid Park on 6 September 2026 in round six of the Scottish Premiership, with both sides in mid table after four matches: St Johnstone eighth on four points, Hibernian one place above on six. The promoted side have taken four of a possible 12 points from their opening games, while Hibernian arrive three days after a 1-3 derby loss to Hearts.
Simo Valakari and David Gray have barely overlapped as managers, with Valakari taking charge on 1 October 2024 after replacing Craig Levein and Gray in post since 6 June 2024 following Nick Montgomery's departure, which means there isn't much head to head data to lean on.
St Johnstone come in with a W-L-L-D run across their last four league games, having drawn 1-1 with Dundee on 2 September 2026 after a wild 4-3 win over Kilmarnock in late August. Hibernian's recent form reads L-W-W-L: they bounced back from a sluggish start with a win over Dundee but then got blown out in the Edinburgh derby.
St Johnstone are without B. Mikulic (hamstring), leaving Cheick Diabate to organise the back line alone. Hibernian have it considerably worse, as A. Suto, J. Mulligan (ankle), N. Cadden (calf), O. Elding (calf) and A. Major (groin) are all out and Warren O'Hora has left the club entirely. The loss of Mulligan and Cadden is particularly damaging alongside Elding and Major's absences, which leave Gray short of options up front.
Valakari has St Johnstone set up in a compact defensive shape at home, with Josh Fowler as the outlet when they win possession. Diabate has to do more organisational work across the back line without Mikulic, particularly at set pieces. Gray typically runs a 3-4-3 or 4-2-3-1 built on attacking width, with Martin Boyle leading the press and looking for space in behind.
Hibernian lose their natural wide cover without Cadden and Mulligan, meaning Boyle will have to create chances without the overlapping runs he normally relies on. If St Johnstone dominate midfield, Fowler is likely to exploit the space those two would usually cover. Gray's side need Boyle pulling wide to stretch the back line but the injury situation makes their pressing less structured and Sallinger will be tested at corners and free kicks having yet to face a side with this kind of dead ball threat since joining.
Across 34 previous meetings, St Johnstone hold 11 wins to Hibernian's 14, with nine draws. St Johnstone at home have been difficult to beat in recent seasons, winning through set pieces and counter attacks.
Set pieces were central to St Johnstone's promotion campaign and, without Mikulic, the quality of delivery from corners and free kicks matters even more than usual.
We're going with a 1-2 Hibernian win, with St Johnstone sitting in their defensive shape and looking to Fowler on the break while set pieces offer the clearest home chances. Hibernian still carry more firepower through Boyle even without Elding and Major and Boyle pulling St Johnstone's centre backs wide could create room for runners from midfield. Boyle is the difference in a game St Johnstone make hard for them.
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?.
