Scottish Championship sides Partick Thistle and Dunfermline Athletic will lock horns at Firhill Stadium in the League Cup group stages on Saturday afternoon.
The two sides last faced each other during the 2019-20 campaign, with the visitors winning two of their three encounters and scoring nine goals in the process.
Match preview
After suffering relegation from the Championship in 2019-20, Partick Thistle bounced back at the first attempt and were crowned League One champions last season.
In a shortened 22-game campaign – due to the coronavirus pandemic – the Jags finished two points clear of their nearest challengers Airdrieonians and lost only four league matches, the fewest in the division.
Manager Ian McCall has urged his squad to aim high for the new season and has refused to rule out the prospect of back-to-back promotions.
Partick Thistle head into Saturday's League Cup clash with Dunfermline after failing to win any of their last five meetings against them. They were also eliminated in the group stages of this competition last season, failing to progress from the first round for the first time in nine years.
As for Dunfermline, they will be taking part in their sixth consecutive Championship campaign this season, after finishing in fourth place last term and losing 2-0 in the Premiership playoff quarter-finals to Raith Rovers.
Head coach Stevie Crawford decided to step down from his role after more than two years in charge, with former Celtic midfielder Peter Grant appointed as his replacement.
Before concentrating on their Championship campaign, the Pars turn their attention to the League Cup and will be looking to progress to the knockout stages for the fifth successive year.
Dunfermline were eliminated at the quarter-final stage last season, losing 5-4 on penalties to eventual winners St Johnstone.
The Pars have won 11 of their last 12 group stage matches in this competition and will be hoping to claim another three points on Saturday.
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Team News
Partick Thistle boss McCall could name the same starting lineup that narrowly lost 1-0 in a pre-season friendly against Rangers on Monday.
After a brief spell in Cyprus last year, left-back Kevin Holt has returned to Scotland this summer and could make his debut for the Jags in a defensive back five.
Fellow new recruit Scott Tiffoney could also feature in the first XI up front alongside Connor Murray and Brian Graham.
Dunfermline's 17-year-old defender Miller Fenton – who started the last warm-up game against Civil Service Strollers – is likely to drop to the bench, with experienced centre-back Paul Watson set to be brought into the side.
New signing Nikolay Todorov, who scored 11 goals for Inverness last season, is in line to start in a three-man attack alongside Kevin O'Hara and Lewis McCann.
Partick Thistle possible starting lineup:
Sneddon; Foster, O'Ware, McKenna, Bell, Holt; Bannigan, Docherty; Murray, Graham, Tiffoney
Dunfermline Athletic possible starting lineup:
Fon Williams; MacDonald, Gaspuitis, Watson, Edwards; Thomas, Allan, Todd; O'Hara, Todorov, McCann
We say: Partick Thistle 1-1 Dunfermline Athletic
Both Partick Thistle and Dunfermline will fancy their chances of securing all three points this weekend in what is set to be a closely-fought encounter. However, with little to separate the two sides, a score draw could be on the cards at Firhill Stadium.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Partick Thistle win with a probability of 41.78%. A win for Dunfermline Athletic had a probability of 31.93% and a draw had a probability of 26.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Partick Thistle win was 1-0 with a probability of 10.52%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.75%) and 2-0 (7.36%). The likeliest Dunfermline Athletic win was 0-1 (8.94%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.5%). The actual scoreline of 2-4 was predicted with a 0.6% likelihood.
