Inverness – Partick Thistle

Inverness had a marvelous Premiership campaign before being shocked by St. Johnstone, a 0-4 defeat last round. Even so, the hosts are on the 2nd place in the standings, but they need to forget and never repeat that horrible performance in the last round. They did miss some players, and St Johnstone is a tough opponent, but it was just painful to watch for Inverness. However, a single game can`t change the fact that this team played fantastic so far and affirmed itself as the top contender for the 2nd place.  A win today would see Inverness go three points clear of Motherwell and closing the gap to Celtic to just one point. Their standing is largely attributed to their home record. Inverness is the best home team in Scotland, winning all their games at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium. Their stat line at home is impressive to say the least: 4 games, 4 wins, 10 goals score, no goals conceded.

Partick Thistle was expected to finish second to last only due to the 15 point penalty inflicted on Hearts. Partick was widely dubbed as being among the worst two teams in the league, but the inexperienced Premiership newcomers proved the critics wrong. While Partick is still a bottom half of the table team, they are playing decent football and are currently sitting on 9th place with 10 points in 9 rounds. Their away record has been particularly impressive, with 2 wins, 1 draw and a single loss. On the other hand, the visitors are on a 4 match winless run, with 2 draws and 2 losses in the last 4 rounds. Their offense has also been especially disappointing, the team scoring less than one goal per game.

Team news

Inverness has a full squad to choose from except for the injured James Vincent, whom you have to wish all the best after an ugly fractured tibia injury. Partick also has an almost clean bill of health except for fullback Jordan McMillan.

Inverness CT match squad: Brill, Meekings, Raven, Warren, Shinnie, Foran, Doran, Draper, Agdestein, Ross, Polworth, Greenhalgh, McKay, Williams, Tremarco, Esson, Devine, Watkins.

Partick Thistle match squad: Fox, O’Donnell, Muirhead, Balatoni, Sinclair, Osbourne, Higginbotham, Craigen, Welsh, Elliott, Bannigan, Doolan, Gallacher, Kerr, Forbes, Lawless, Baird, Fraser.

Inverness is clearly one of the best teams in Scotland and their current form is impressive. I am backing the hosts to recover after that 0-4 loss to St Johnstone, they are too good to produce 2 bad performances in a row and they are a scary team to play against on their stadium. Partick Thistle is a decent young team, they can play very well at times, but they are one level below Inverness in terms of quality, they are in poor form and they can`t score goals. You have to think the home side has what it takes to bounce back with a win today and the odds are actually great. Partick Thistle`s manager said that he didn`t know what to make of Inverness` defeat to St. Johnstone, it really seems like he does not know what to expect today and how to react, so this could be an important factor in deciding the winner. My pick for this one is Inverness Caledonian Thistle – Partick Thistle 2-0. Expect top Premiership goalscorer Billy Mckay (8 goals in 9 games) to pose some big problems to Partick Thistle`s defense and maybe (or probably) get on the scoresheet in the process.

Pick: Inverness CT
Odds: 1.96 @ Pinnacle
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 7.68
Event date: 20 October

Editor Facts

• Rostick is 6 for 8 in British football in October