PARTICK THISTLE and Inverness Caledonian Thistle harboured dreams of Championship glory just a few weeks ago but head into this Friday night showdown under pressure to hang on to a play-off spot.
Call-offs on the dodgy Firhill pitch have hampered Thistle's promotion push, leaving them with a backlog of fixtures. Had they played and won both their games in hand then Ian McCall's men would be sitting just three points off top spot and breathing down the necks of a faltering Arbroath side.
They drew 1-1 with the leaders in midweek in another of their rescheduled games, ruining my bet of BTTS no, and the point moved Thistle above Raith Rovers into the final play-off slot.
After five games without a win in all competitions, it's going to be hard for Partick Thistle to keep digging deep in a congested fixture list and their latest challenge comes with a clash against the side sitting directly above them.
Inverness were early pace-setters in the Championship title race but now sit eight points off the pace after a horror run of 10 games without a victory.
Six of those matches have ended in stalemates but if Caley Thistle don't start putting some victories on the board they could easily drop out of the play-off places.
Claiming three points is absolutely massive for both sides so the stage is set for a fascinating battle.
How the bookies view it
With both sides drawing so many of their games in recent weeks the stalemate will appeal to plenty of punters at 23/10 with Mansionbet. Partick Thistle are a best 11/8 with SBK while Inverness are 21/10 at Betfred.
Recent head to head
Armchair fans will be hoping for a repeat of the last meeting which saw the sides battle out a 3-3 draw up north a month ago (below). The last Firhill clash was less exciting, ending in a 0-0 snorefest, while Caley Thistle won 3-1 at home in the first meeting this term.
Inverness have a decent recent record at Firhill, losing on just one of their last four visits.
Players to watch
Brian Graham has been the main man for Partick Thistle up front this season and is shouldering the burden for goals even more after Zak Rudden's move to Dundee. The Jags striker has 18 for the season but I've yet to see any prices for the scorer markets yet.
Billy Mckay has also hit double figures for Inverness this season and netted last time these sides met. That took him to 13 for the campaign and he will be looking to add another here.
Anything else catch the eye?
The poor surface at Firhill makes flowing football difficult so this could be a difficult watch for those tuning in on BBC Scotland.
Partick Thistle's last four home matches have all been settled by a single goal while under 2.5 strikes has come up in their last 11 at Firhill. So under 2.5 strikes looks decent for accas at 4/6 with BoyleSports while the odds increase to 2/1 at Unibet for under 1.5 goals. Betting against BTTS is also worth a punt at 37/40 with BetVictor.
Playing against Partick seems to bring out the wild side in Inverness defender Robbie Deas. He has been booked in all three meetings this term and is a tempting 11/4 at McBookie to collect another card here.
This Scottish Championship match between Partick Thistle and Inverness Caledonian Thistle will be played on Mar 4, 2022 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Partick Thistle vs Inverness Caledonian Thistle prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.