Hibs welcome Livingston to Edinburgh for their opening day fixture in the Scottish Championship, hopeful of a victory to set themselves up for next weeks Edinburgh Derby.
Alan Stubbs new look side head into the clash on the back of a decent performance in the Petrofac Cup against Rangers, a tie they lost in extra time thanks to some questionable refereeing decisions.
The Easter Road side will be hopeful of getting their league campaign off to a flier and will be aiming to improve their dismal home record from the past few seasons.
Stubbs’ arrival has certainly partially lifted the gloom surrounding the club following relegation from the Premiership under Terry Butcher with most fans pleased with the attractive playing style instilled into the squad during pre season friendlies.
Livingston, managed by former Hearts boss John McGlynn, will aim to show the Hibees what life is all about in the Scottish second tier and are sure to be fired up for the match against one of the title favourites.
Vital Quotes:
Alan Stubbs: “We`ve started on a journey here at Hibernian and, although we acknowledge we won`t reach our goals immediately, we are making steady progress and hopefully everybody can see that development.
“Saturday`s match against Livingston will be a difficult match against a well-organised team in a massively competitive league, but we`ll be targeting three points and a positive start to the new campaign.”
Hibernian Team News:
Stubbs will have a full squad to pick from barring the suspended Danny Handling with new signing Scott Allan his likely replacement.
Scott Robertson is also likely to feature despite cramping badly during extra time in midweek whilst Farid El-Alagui will be hoping to open his scoring account after missing a couple of gilt edged chances against Rangers.
Player to watch: Scott Allan
Much is expected of the former Dundee United starlet who lost his way following a move south to West Brom.
On his day can be a match winner and Hibees fans will be hoping he can hit the ground running.
Livingston Team News:
Livingston have no fresh injury worries and will hope to have Simon Mensing back in their starting line up after the influential defender missed last weekend’s 0-0 draw with Albion Rovers in the League Cup – a tie which the West Lothian outfit won 4-3 on penalties.
Player to watch: Gary Glen
Former Hearts kid will be looking to put one over his old Edinburgh foes.
Spent a disappointing time in Dingwall with Ross County before a summer move to the Lions.
Match Facts & Stats
This is the first clash between the two sides since February 2006 when Hibs destroyed the Almondvale outfit 7-0 at Easter Road in the SPL.
The goalscorers on that evening were Chris Killen, Garry O’Connor, Derek Riordan (2), Steven Fletcher (2) and an own goal from Dave Mackay.
Ref Watch:
Bobby Madden takes charge of the Hibees first home game of the season and the highly rated whistler will hopefully not be subject to any media headlines come the final whistle.
Match Prediction:
Hibs need to get their season underway with a victory as every point could prove crucial in a highly contested league.
Hibs 2 Livingston 0
Next Fixtures:
Hibs face Hearts next Sunday in an eagerly anticipated Edinburgh Derby.
