Can Partick Thistle continue excellent run of results?
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What a difference a month makes. On October 1, Partick Thistle’s 2-0 defeat at Rangers consigned Alan Archibald’s men to bottom spot in the Ladbrokes Premiership. But heading into Friday night’s meeting with Aberdeen, they know victory would propel them into the top-six.
So, what’s gone right – and can the Jags continue their rise up the table?
For starters, they’re not struggling to find the net – and even more encouragingly, Thistle’s goals are coming from all over the park, meaning their recent upturn in form has been down to the squad as a whole, and not a single player papering over the cracks.
Six of their last seven goals have come from different players, with the combination of strength and flair provided by Ade Azeez and Kris Doolan up-front beginning to really click.
However, the biggest change of all has come from the dugout, with Archibald shifting from the early season 4-5-1 shelved in favour of a more expansive 3-5-2 system.
With Callum Booth and Christie Elliott offering pace on the wings, while Abdul Osman offers a solid presence just behind the attacking midfield quartet, to break up play and get the ball out to those in wider areas.
For some teams, a defensive three might not have the stamina to keep out opponents for the full 90 minutes.
However, with a trio of Liam Lindsay, Danny Devine and Adam Barton at the back against St Johnstone, the energetic Thistle backline looked largely untroubled en route to a dominant 2-1 victory.
Indeed, there’s only really one doubt over Thistle’s credentials, following their haul of eight points from four games – but it is a big one.
During that run, they haven’t faced any of the current top four – Celtic, Aberdeen, Rangers or Heart of Midlothian.
If they want to finish in the top-half, the Jags will have to end a dismal run against the big boys which includes a 20-game losing streak against the Hoops, and a seven-game winless run against the Dons.
However, Friday night gives them the chance to end the latter of those unwanted records.
It’s 10/3 for Partick Thistle to beat Aberdeen at Firhill, while it’s a sizeable 33/1 they repeat the 3-1 margin of victory from their last triumph over the North-East club back in February 2014.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
