First Team
PREVIEW: In-form Saints take on Hibs
2nd November 2018
Saints head to Easter Road tomorrow looking to stretch their winning run to four matches when they take on Hibs in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
Following victories against Motherwell, St. Mirren and Livingston, the confidence is high among the Saints squad going into tomorrow's match with Neil Lennon's men.
Tommy Wright's side are unbeaten in their last four matches against Hibs picking up three draws and a victory. The last trip to Easter Road came to a thrilling conclusion with Saints winning 2-1 thanks to a last gasp Steven MacLean winner.
The manager is hoping that his players can continue their good run and come away from Leith with another positive result.
"Since they've come back into the top flight we've had a decent record against them," Tommy said, "and hopefully that will continue on Saturday.
"It's the first game in the next round of league fixtures so we're looking to get off to a positive start.
"We know what Hibs are about and we know they have quality. Neil has a lot options available to him and I know that he likes to change things up.
"They've played a diamond formation this season and they've played 4-3-3. There's an element of unknown to how they're going to set up but we'll be prepared for all eventualities. Ultimately it comes down to how we play and if we perform well we can come away with a result."
Although the manager knows that his opponent has the options to change things up, Tommy also believes that Hibs will be in the dark about how his side will line-up at Easter Road.
"I think with the squad we have now I also have a lot of options to choose from," he said.
"We've got full-backs who can play as wing-backs, wingers who can play off the striker and against Livingston on Wednesday night we even had Jason step up to play as a holding midfielder in the last 10 minutes.
"We've got a lot more flexibility and it means that I can make changes to shape, formation and personnel more easily during games. We're definitely a lot less rigid now."
David Wotherspoon is an injury concern for tomorrow but the manager is hopeful that he will be available. Danny Swanson and Murray Davidson were struggling with illness after the Livingston match but both should be fine for tomorrow.
Blair Alston, Steven Anderson and Brian Easton all remain sidelined but are making good progress.
One man who will be available and raring to go on Saturday is Tony Watt and the manager was quick to praise his striker's contribution on Wednesday night.
"I thought he was excellent," Tommy said.
"He was strong, he was involved in most things going forward and obviously played his part in Matty's goal.
"I thought he linked up well with Murray and showed good pace and led the line well.
"Obviously Tony wants to score goals and we want him to be scoring too but I thought his all-round performance was very good and hopefully we'll see more of the same tomorrow."
Tomorrow's match at Easter Road is a 3PM kick-off. Saints fans will be able to purchase tickets tomorrow before the match from the South Stand Pod at Easter Road.