by Stuart Gillespie

The Edinburgh side can perhaps sympathise with Saints, having been knocked out of last season's Scottish Cup at Dingwall. It was a minor blip in John Hughes' first year in charge as he guided the side to fourth place in the SPL and a Europa League spot. That adventure may be over, but the signs are good for another successful season at Easter Road, even at this early stage. They opened up with another high-scoring game against Motherwell at Fir Park - although this time they managed to win, rather than draw - and they were unlucky not to take anything from last week's game against Rangers, having chances to score before they went behind. There haven't been too many players coming in over the summer, the most notable perhaps being former Aberdeen and Livingston defender Michael Hart. The only other outfield arrivals so far are ex Norwich defender David Stephens and Dutch midfielder Edwin de Graaf.

Many of the jokes made south of the border about Scottish goalies during the 70's and 80's could probably have been trotted out for Hibs' keepers in the past few years, but Hughes finally seems to have resolved that situation with another of his summer signings. Mark Brown, who spent last season on loan at Kilmarnock from Celtic, has been brought in, and the former Inverness Caley Thistle man is a good keeper who should rectify a problem position. If he doesn't, Hughes still has two other good keepers to choose from. He brought former Motherwell keeper Graeme Smith back to Scotland in January and he has done well, while he also has former Arsenal and Reading shotstopper Graham Stack on the books at Easter Road.

At the other end of the park Hibs have options to give any defence problems. Derek Riordan, now in his second spell at the club after a stint at Celtic, is a handful for any defender and he scored 16 goals last season. Anthony Stokes, who Hughes brought in last year after working with him at Falkirk a few years ago, rattled in 23 goals as he got his career on track. And there's also Colin Nish, who offers a physical presence and also goals, scoring five goals in the last two games of last season. In midfield John Rankin is capable of scoring from long range thanks to his infamous "squigglers", while Liam Miller is arguably a player that should still be playing in the Premiership. Another former Manchester United player, Danny Galbraith, can also be a handful on the wings.

Hibs seemed to specialise in scoring late winners against Saints last season, managing it in both games at Easter Road. The first was on the opening day of the season where Stephen McGinn put Saints in front after Steven Thomson had been sent off. David Wotherspoon equalised almost immediately and late on Benji grabbed the winner. In January things were eerily similar - a Sol Bamba goal giving Saints the lead before Liam Miller equalised and Jack Ross scored a late own goal. The game at St Mirren Park last season finished in a 1-1 draw, Chris Innes scoring for Saints after a stunning goal from Derek Riordan. You have to go back to January 2008 for the last time Saints beat Hibs, Ian Maxwell and Gary Mason scoring in the 2-1 win.

The midweek cup defeat will have given Saints boss Danny Lennon plenty of food for thought as he prepares his team to face one of his former clubs. As well as a disappointing night, Wednesday night also brought the unwelcome fact of extra-time and penalties, which must be taken into account for tomorrow's game. It's unlikely Steven Thomson, David Barron or Paul McQuade will be back, although Gareth Wardlaw could return to the bench. Craig Dargo could be given a rest, having only just returned from injury, meaning a partnership of Michael Higdon and Paul McGowan, while David van Zanten could return to the starting line-up to face the club he left a year ago. Steven Robb and Garry Brady were also on the bench during the week and either one could be brought into the side as Lennon bids for his first win as Saints gaffer.

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