While the World Cup marches on there are more pressing matters at hand – match day 17 of the SPFL Championship! There are crucial games at both ends of the table as the top four could begin to take shape and the gap between the bottom two and the rest grows.
At the top of the table Ayr host Raith Rovers. The unlikely leaders show no sign of slipping up and are unbeaten in their last seven and having only lost once at Somerset Park all season. Lee Bullen will be hoping that the league’s top scorer Dipo Akinyemi can add to his 14 goals in what has been a remarkable campaign. Raith Rovers have proven to be inconsistent this season after shortly breaking into the top four now sit 7th after back-to-back league defeats. On top of the shaky form, Raith don’t travel well. Having only picked up two away wins in the league this season against Arbroath and Hamilton – two teams lower than them in the table. Ian Murray will be hoping that players like Lewis Vaughan, Tom Lang and Ethan Ross who are returning from injuries can gel back into the side quickly and get back to their best. The previous meeting between the two at Stark’s Park saw Raith pick up a needed win breaking a run of bad form, Raith took a two-goal lead before half time but Ayr clawed back to 2-2 before Scott Brown bagged a late winner. The Honest Men will be hoping a win can keep them on top and that other results may go their way to further the one-point gap they currently have.
Second place Morton travel to Gayfield to face struggling Arbroath. It has been a tremendous run of form for Dougie Imrie’s side who haven’t lost in the league in two months, scoring 21 goals in 9 games. Last time out in the league they narrowly defeated Cove Rangers away in a very tight game. However, one thing that was noticed in that game was the exciting attacking play coming from forwards Jaze Kabia, Jai Quitongo and Robbie Muirhead. Wingers Kabia and Quitongo are explosive players who undoubtedly have the flair to run at defenders and the skill to supply balls in for Muirhead, who is their top scorer. The ‘Ton will be hoping that their form doesn’t prove to be a purple patch and that the campaign can turn into a title charge, which no one would have seen coming in July. Meanwhile for Arbroath it has been a completely different story than last season’s side that were one win away from winning the league. Arbroath sit on 12 points just one above Hamilton at the bottom. However, one of the two wins this season came against Morton at Cappielow in September in a time when the Ton were struggling. Since then, the Lichties have only beaten Hamilton at Gayfield and have depended on getting draws from four of their last eight league games for points.
Bottom of the table Hamilton Accies travel to the southside of Glasgow to face Queen’s Park who are back to playing at Hampden Park. John Rankin’s Hamilton have struggled in their second season in the championship and look to face a relegation battle this season. The Accies have only won two league games and both by 1-0, so they will be hoping to keep a clean sheet to get a win. That is easier said than done as the worst defence in the league faces one of the best attacks in the league. The Spiders were in the mood for goals last time out in the league after beating Raith Rovers away 5-2. Simon Murray scored a brace in that game and he is their main focal point with 12 goal contributions in 16 this season, including a goal in the last meeting between the two sides which saw Queen’s Park run out as 2-0 winners. With home advantage, it would be a shock if the result was any different this time.
A rejuvenated Partick Thistle make the tricky trip to Aberdeen to face Cove Rangers. Prior to a fortnight ago, Thistle were on a terrible run of form, not only losing their last six games in all competitions but conceding a shocking 20 goals. Since then, Ian McCall’s side have had back-to-back 3-0 wins at Firhill, in the league against Arbroath and in the Scottish Cup against Kelty Hearts. Due to how tight the league table is, the win in the last league game sees Partick up to 5th and this feels like a real turning point in their season. With other teams being inconsistent Partick have the quality to kick on and at least put themselves in the play-offs however their form before that win shows they can easily end up stuck in mid-table. Full back Harry Milne will face his former club on Saturday, he enjoyed a successful league winning campaign with Cove Rangers last season and won their player of the year award before moving on to Partick Thistle. His former side sit in a strange position in the table in 8th, five points above Arbroath in the relegation battle and five points behind Raith Rovers in 7th and therefore never being in the ever-changing play-off conversation that every other club in the league seems to be in. So far it has been a season of missed opportunities for the Toonsers, it seems that whenever they get themselves in a good position with a solid win they then fail to beat the teams around them to make progress in the table. For example, an impressive 2-0 win home win against Queen’s Park last month was sandwiched in between two draws against Arbroath and Hamilton. On top of this, Cove’s four wins this season have all been at Balmoral Stadium and remain the only team in the league to have not won an away game. While it is important for Cove to make the travel up (for most clubs except Inverness) to be tough, it is the away wins that are missing for them to kick on. The previous outing for this fixture finished 2-2 with Cove snatching a draw with 2 late goals from set-pieces, with the shaky form of both sides a score draw would not be a bad prediction this time out.
Finally, Dundee travel to the highlands to face Inverness at Caledonian Stadium. Dundee, who were arguably the league favourites at the beginning of the campaign, had a lacklustre start to the season but have turned on the class recently. Dundee haven’t lost in the league since the beginning of October including four wins in their last six. The previous encounter against Inverness ended in an entertaining 3-2 win for Inverness with Dundee going down to 10 men late on. The Caley fans will be slightly disappointed with their season so far after having lofty ambitions of at least a play-off place yet are without a league win in six. Dundee looks to be turning a corner in their season and it would be a good chance for Gary Bowyer’s side to keep pressure on Ayr and Morton at the top with another win against an out of form side.
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