As Motherwell battled Hearts and the elements last weekend news filtered through of Thistle’s goal scoring spree at Kilmarnock. The highlights revealed that they could have reached double figures had they converted all the opportunities afforded them by a generous Killie defence and the warning to our back line is clear.
Although Doolan has scored three in the last two games we should be aware that ten others have found the net in the league this season. That goal threat from all over the pitch is one of the factors that have contributed to Thistle’s recent climb to ninth place.
For all that they are only two points ahead of us. As a further incentive we should be aware that if we win and results elsewhere are favourable we could be in 8th place on Saturday evening.
The well praised showing of the team against Hearts suggests that Mark McGhee will not make any unforced changes to the starting eleven. There may be a doubt about Johnson as he clutched a hamstring when he was replaced in the last game and Ainsworth will be keen to start.
The combination of Lasley, Grimshaw and Pearson gave our midfield a strength that had been missing in previous games and we’ll hope that they will provide a solid base for our forwards.
Thistle won both meetings at Firhill last season and they are looking to make this a third consecutive league win. If we can reproduce the effort that coped with Hearts last week we should blunt their ambition and enjoy a 2-1 win.
Remember our last trip to Firhill?