Hibs had the chance of going top of the SPL with a win last weekend but due to their defeat away to Aberdeen they now currently sit in fifth position, just a point outside the bottom six of the division. It’s an incredibly tight league this season and any slip-up is highlighted more than usual. Despite dropping a couple of places in the standings, it has been a positive start to the new season after dismal campaign last time around. Pat Fenlon has brought in an entire new squad during his short stint at manager and it seems to be, finally, paying dividends. Still unbeaten at home after four games (two wins, two draws) they go into Saturday’s match against Dundee in buoyant mood, none more so than Leigh Griffiths. The Scotland U21 striker has been in excellent form this season and seems to be concentrating solely on his football as opposed to issues off the field. He has netted five goals in the SPL this season – Motherwell’s Michael Higdon is the only player to have scored more.
Dundee had a difficult summer as they were left in limbo for much of it due to the uncertainty of which league they would be playing in. It meant they were unable to properly prepare for life in the SPL in terms of purchasing of players and awarding new contracts to the current squad as they were not fully aware of what their budget would be until a fortnight before the season began. Manager Barry Smith has done well to even get a competitive squad together and there are signs they are getting to grips with the league. Game by game they are improving and although they are bottom of the table they are not on the receiving end of heavy defeats as they were at the start of the season. They have, however, lost their last three and need to stop the rot or run the risk of being cast adrift at the foot of the table as sides are taking points of each other. Saturday’s game represents another tough task but they will take some solace from the fact that their only SPL win to date came in the capital – against Hearts.
Hibs have a goalscorer in fine form and it will be difficult for Dundee who, despite improving, are still four points adrift of 11th place. My fear for Smith’s side is that although they are competitive in their matches – more so than they were at the beginning of the season – they still lack that vital bit of quality at both ends of the park and I can see them struggling to get wins on the board because of that.
I’m not totally convinced of Hibs but they are unbeaten at home and should be too strong – home win.
Hibs 10/13 @ Pinnacle
