Scottish League
2026-05-25 - St Mirren vs Partick Thistle
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: Scottish Premiership Play Off Final Second Leg
Monday 25th May 2026 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV
St Mirren
They may feel a little fortunate, but St Mirren return home from the First Leg of this Play Off Final with the tie level and that makes them favourites to retain their place in the Scottish Premiership. However, there was enough shown in the First Leg to suggest St Mirren cannot take anything for granted and manager Craig McLeish will be looking for a little bit more from his team.
Confidence will come from the fact that St Mirren had a solid enough 5-6-8 home record, although the 1-1 scoreline from the First Leg means they have to do more than avoiding defeat. One of the big reasons St Mirren find themselves scrapping for their top flight future in the Play Off is the struggles in front of goal and they scored just 11 League goals in 19 fixtures at The SMISA Stadium.
St Mirren have won 1 of the last 8 games in all competitions, but they do head into this Second Leg unbeaten in 3, which will give the squad some real confidence. The side have won 1 of the last 5 at home since beating Partick Thistle here in the Scottish Cup Quarter Final.
Partick Thistle
This is the eighth year out of the Scottish Premiership and Partick Thistle have had a number of recent Play Off heartbreak, but the players and coaching staff remain very positive after the 1-1 draw in the First Leg at Firhill. Manager Mark Wilson stated that he felt St Mirren would have been very happy to escape with a draw and he is looking for 'one more push' from his Championship team.
The Jags ended up 11 points behind St Johnstone in the Scottish Championship standings, but they proved to be tough to beat all season with just 4 defeats. Home form has been really important and Partick Thistle have work to do on Monday considering they put together a 5-9-4 away record in the second tier.
Partick Thistle are unbeaten in 12 games in all competitions, but the draw on Thursday does mean that 6 of the last 8 have ended with the spoils shared. The side have lost 1 of the last 12 away games in all competitions, albeit at this Stadium, and Partick Thistle have drawn the last 4 in a row on their travels.
Head to Head
St Mirren beat Partick Thistle 2-1 here in March, but the away team can take something away from the fact that they had more shots and more possession even if they came up short.
That result does mean St Mirren have beaten Partick Thistle 3 times in a row at home.
Prediction
There is little doubt that Partick Thistle were the better team in the First Leg and they will be disappointed that they were not able to take a lead to Paisley.
A battling result is one thing for St Mirren, but Craig McLeish will know that his team still have a big fight on their hands in their bid to retain Scottish Premiership status.
St Mirren showed a clinical touch to take the lead on Thursday, but this is a team that have struggled in the final third all season and that makes it tough to see them priced up as short as they are to win the Second Leg. Yes, they deserve to be favourites and Partick Thistle have not been nearly as effective away from Firhill as they have been at home, but The Jags have played here once in a big setting this season and that experience should help.
The current Premiership club have not exactly been winning a lot of games at home in recent weeks and St Mirren have struggled in that final third.
That is simply not the case for Partick Thistle and the visiting team are certainly capable of making this a competitive, tightly fought battle.
One goal may be enough to avoid a defeat and Partick Thistle have proven to be stubborn to beat in recent away games.
It is that resilience that could be key in this big fixture on Monday night and backing the away team with a full goal start on the Asian Handicap looks the way to go.
The Pick :
St Mirren 1-1 Partick Thistle
