Livingston will look to take another step closer to an immediate return to the Scottish Premiership as they welcome Partick Thistle to Almondvale on Friday night in the second leg of their semi-final playoff tie.
David Martindale’s hosts missed out on automatic promotion to the Premiership on the final day of the season, as a defeat at home to Partick, coupled with a 3-1 win for Falkirk at home to Hamilton, saw The Bairns go up at their expense.
Livi did at least get some revenge on that defeat to Thistle on Tuesday night, as a 0-2 win at Firhill in the first leg puts them in pole position to reach the Premiership promotion/relegation playoff final.
Partick required that win on the final day of the Championship season just to reach the playoffs, as they finished just two points clear of Raith Rovers in fifth.
The Jags will take confidence from the fact that they won at Almondvale a fortnight ago and that they knocked out Ayr in the previous round despite losing the first leg at home.
How the bookies view it: Livi to roar again
The bookmakers expect Livingston to extend their two-goal advantage, with BoyleSports pricing them up at just 4/6 to win on the night.
The same firm has a Partick success on the night at 18/5, whilst the draw is 13/5.
Head to head: Livi come up on top
Livingston have claimed two wins and two draws against Partick Thistle this season, but The Jags did record at Almondvale just a fortnight ago.
Players to watch: More goals for Muirhead?
Robbie Muirhead is Livi’s top scorer in the Championship this season with 13 goals, and the Ex-Morton man is 8/5 at Bet365 to score against The Jags for the third time this term.
Legendary Partick striker Brian Graham scored both goals in their triumph at Ayr in the previous round, and the current interim Thistle coach is 12/5 to score once again.
Predicted line-ups:
David Martindale doesn’t appear to have any new injury doubts and may opt for a similar starting 11 to the one that started the first leg success on Tuesday.
Partick will be expected to make a few alterations to the first leg, with the likes of Steven Lawless and Alex Jakubiak pushing for starts.
Livingston: Prior, Brandon, McGowan, Wilson, Fraser, Pitman, Tait, Kelly, Smith, Muirhead, Montano
Partick Thistle: Mitchell, Jakubiak, Ashcroft, O’Reilly, Megwa, Crawford, Bannigan, Low, Chalmers, Lawless, Graham
Anything else catch the eye?
Given they are two goals down, Partick will have to go for it at some stage, and that may leave gaps in their defence.
However, I don’t see this being a high-scorer, especially given the five meetings between the pair this season have averaged just 1.40 goals per game, with Under 2.5 Goals landing on each occasion.
Therefore, I fully expect Livi to seal their place in the Premiership promotion/relegation playoff final in what promises to be a low-scoring encounter at Almondvale on Friday.
This Scottish Premiership match between Livingston and Partick Thistle will be played on and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Livingston vs Partick Thistle prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
GambleAware