Hibs 2022/23 fixture analysis: Lee Johnson baptism of fire, tough start, festive test, scheduling quirk

As expected, the Easter Road side are away from home on the opening day of the season. Club chiefs requested a road trip just in case the extensive revamp to the West Stand hospitality spaces wasn’t complete in time – but there are hopes that it could be ready for the Norwich City friendly, six days before the start of the campaign.

The side travels to McDiarmid Park to take on a St Johnstone team who maintained their top-flight status thanks to a play-off victory against Inverness Caledonian Thistle in which former Hibee Melker Hallberg played a significant role.

Another familiar face in the curtain-raiser will be Drey Wright, who returned to Perthshire after a two-year stint in the Capital. There is, generally speaking, an unspoken rule that any player turning out for the Saints who has previously represented Hibs must have a stormer against their former employers so it will be an interesting start to the campaign – especially given that St Johnstone is often a tough place to go for most teams.

Hibs will have home games during the League Cup group stages, but hosting Europa League contestants and city rivals Hearts in Lee Johnson’s first home league game should be a tasty encounter – a baptism of fire, if you will.

The new Easter Road boss has already said he is looking forward to a reunion with former team-mate Robbie Neilson.

The derby is scheduled for a 3pm kick-off on Saturday August 6 but there is a very good chance that will change for TV purposes.

The next derby is the new year edition, pencilled in for Monday January 2 2023 in Gorgie at 3pm.

The final pre-split meeting between the old rivals will be played out on Saturday April 15 at Easter Road. As with the initial encounter and indeed many if not all