St Johnstone, founded in 1884, remain one of Scottish football’s familiar fixtures, based at McDiarmid Park and usually most comfortable when forcing opponents into awkward afternoons rather than open spectacle.
Their modern peak came in 2020/2021, when they won both the League Cup and the Scottish Cup. That Scottish Cup was their second overall, sitting alongside a single League Cup in a modest but meaningful honours list.
This season has them eighth in the Premiership with 12 points after 10 matches. Their recent league run has been mixed: a 4-0 defeat at Rangers followed draws with Dundee United and Falkirk, a 1-0 win at Aberdeen, a 2-1 win over Hibernian, and a 1-0 home defeat to Celtic.
The squad is relatively young, with an average age of 24 across 29 players, and is valued at around £4m by Transfermarkt. Josh Fowler has carried the main scoring threat with six goals, while Kai Fotheringham, Jamie Gullan and Ruari Paton have each added two.
St Johnstone have been more productive at home, averaging 1.6 goals scored and 1.4 conceded per match, but their away figures are thinner: 0.6 scored and 1.6 conceded. For Celtic supporters, they are an established domestic opponent with enough structure to irritate, but clear weaknesses when pulled away from Perth.
📈 Key stats and insights
⚔️ How they compare to Celtic
Against Celtic on basic metrics St Johnstone lag significantly: Celtic lead the division in both attack and defence and are far more consistent home and away, while St Johnstone rely on home competitiveness and struggle to match Celtic's goalscoring and defensive discipline on trips, leaving Celtic with a clear edge across the key areas.
