# Partick Thistle v Ayr United — the Match Wizard Scottish Championship, game week 5 — Saturday, 5 September 2026, kick-off 15:00 UK time. > The wizard is price-blind: four steps on played-match facts alone, then your appraisal — and only then the market. Read it in order. Nothing here is a tip or a selection. Partick Thistle: 40 league matches in the bank, 4 from this season and the rest from last season. Ayr United: 40 league matches in the bank, 4 from this season and the rest from last season. Look and learn: it is early in the season, so nearly everything counted here was earned last season -- by squads and dugouts a summer window may have reshaped. Treat the first five weeks as pointers while the new shapes settle, not proof. ## Step 1 of 4 — The table **The table makes Partick Thistle the bigger side: 2nd against 7th of 10 last season. Against the block the other keeps: Partick Thistle takes 2.00 points a game, Ayr United 0.92 -- the block form is Partick Thistle's.** Step one is THE TABLE: rank against rank, and the blocks -- the table cut into a top, middle and bottom block, drawn from last season's final standings. The question is not just where each side stands but how it behaves against the company the other keeps: does it play to rank against the blocks above and below, or come apart? ### Partick Thistle -- at home - **Where it stands:** Stands 2nd of 10 after 4 games, with 8 points -- too few games yet to mean much. Last season it finished 2nd of 10 in this division. - **Its block:** By last season's final table it sits in the top block (1st to 3rd). Blocks are drawn from last season because the current table is only 4 games old. - **Against today's opponent's block:** Today it faces a side from the middle block (4th to 7th). Against that block it has won 9, drew 7, lost 1 of 17 -- 34 points of 51. At home against them: won 6 of 9. Away against them: won 3 of 8. - **Across all the blocks:** Across the blocks, over the last two seasons: against the top block won 1, drew 5, lost 2 of 8 (1.00 a game); against the middle block won 9, drew 7, lost 1 of 17 (2.00 a game); against the bottom block won 8, drew 4, lost 1 of 13 (2.15 a game); against sides new to the division won 1, drew 1, lost 0 of 2 (2.00 a game). ### Ayr United -- away - **Where it stands:** Stands 6th of 10 after 4 games, with 5 points -- too few games yet to mean much. Last season it finished 7th of 10 in this division. - **Its block:** By last season's final table it sits in the middle block (4th to 7th). Blocks are drawn from last season because the current table is only 4 games old. - **Against today's opponent's block:** Today it faces a side from the top block (1st to 3rd). Against that block it has won 2, drew 6, lost 5 of 13 -- 12 points of 39. At home against them: won 2 of 7. Away against them: won 0 of 6. - **Across all the blocks:** Across the blocks, over the last two seasons: against the top block won 2, drew 6, lost 5 of 13 (0.92 a game); against the middle block won 4, drew 4, lost 6 of 14 (1.14 a game); against the bottom block won 3, drew 7, lost 3 of 13 (1.23 a game). ## Step 2 of 4 — Home and away form **+1.25 points a game is the venue form gap, in Partick Thistle's favour: Partick Thistle takes 2.30 a game at home over the last two seasons, Ayr United 1.05 away.** Step two is HOME AND AWAY FORM -- the home side judged on its home record, the away side on its away record, because those are the records that will be on the pitch. The last five reach back into last season where this season is too young to answer, and say so. ### Partick Thistle -- at home - **Its record at the relevant venue:** This season at home: won 1, drew 1, lost 0 of 2, scoring 2 and conceding 0. Last season at home: won 12, drew 6, lost 0 of 18, scoring 30 and conceding 12 -- 2.33 points a game. - **Its last five league matches:** Newest first: drew with Queen's Park 0-0 at home; drew with Inverness CT 1-1 away; beat Livingston 2-0 at home; beat Greenock Morton 1-0 away; drew with Queen's Park 1-1 at home. The last of these is from last season. - **The dugout:** Every one of the 15 banked matches with a manager recorded was taken by Mark Wilson. Who picks the team today is not yet recorded this season, so a summer change of manager would not show in these figures. ### Ayr United -- away - **Its record at the relevant venue:** This season away: won 0, drew 1, lost 1 of 2, scoring 1 and conceding 3. Last season away: won 4, drew 8, lost 6 of 18, scoring 21 and conceding 25 -- 1.11 points a game. - **Its last five league matches:** Newest first: drew with Greenock Morton 1-1 at home; lost to Raith Rovers 0-2 away; drew with Dunfermline Athletic 1-1 away; beat Arbroath 2-0 at home; lost to St. Johnstone 0-1 at home. The last of these is from last season. - **The dugout:** The banked record belongs to the club, not one man: 3 different managers took its 16 matches with one recorded (6, 6, 4 apiece), most recently Gary Naysmith with 4. Who picks the team today is not yet recorded this season, so a summer change of manager would not show in these figures. ## Step 3 of 4 — Goals, and when they come **Partick Thistle scores heaviest in the 1-15 spell and concedes heaviest in 61-75; Ayr United scores heaviest in 16-30 and concedes heaviest in 76-90+.** Step three is GOALS, AND WHEN THEY COME. Not just how many each side scores and lets in, but the minute bands they come in, who lands the first blow, what each side does after falling behind, and who finds goals late. A side that concedes early and scores late reads very differently from one that does the opposite, at the same goal difference. Side by side: Partick Thistle scores most in the 1-15 band (14 of 57); Partick Thistle concedes most in the 61-75 band (8 of 37); Ayr United scores most in the 16-30 band (10 of 42); Ayr United concedes most in the 76-90+ band (11 of 51). Who lands the first blow and who lands the last is the question this step exists to ask. ### Partick Thistle -- at home - **Goals a game:** Scores 1.4 and concedes 0.9 a game over its last 40 league matches; at home, 1.6 for and 0.6 against over 20. - **When it scores:** Of 57 scored across its own 40 matches with times recorded: 1-15: 14; 16-30: 10; 31-45+: 7; 46-60: 8; 61-75: 4; 76-90+: 14. Its heaviest scoring spell is after the 75th minute -- 14 of 57 (25%). - **When it concedes:** Of 37 conceded across its own 40 matches with times recorded: 1-15: 4; 16-30: 7; 31-45+: 6; 46-60: 6; 61-75: 8; 76-90+: 6. - **The first goal:** Scored first in 22 of its 40 read -- then won 14, drew 7, lost 1; conceded first in 12 -- pulled back 5 wins and 4 draws from them. Across every match where it trailed at some stage it recovered 20 points. - **Two-goal swings:** Led by two goals at some point in 11 of its 40 read, winning 10 of them; trailed by two in 5, rescuing 1 result; was ahead at some point without winning in 9. ### Ayr United -- away - **Goals a game:** Scores 1.1 and concedes 1.3 a game over its last 40 league matches; away, 1.1 for and 1.4 against over 20. - **When it scores:** Of 42 scored across its own 40 matches with times recorded: 1-15: 9; 16-30: 10; 31-45+: 9; 46-60: 4; 61-75: 2; 76-90+: 8. - **When it concedes:** Of 51 conceded across its own 40 matches with times recorded: 1-15: 10; 16-30: 5; 31-45+: 7; 46-60: 10; 61-75: 8; 76-90+: 11. Its heaviest conceding spell is after the 75th minute -- 11 of 51 (22%). - **The first goal:** Scored first in 19 of its 40 read -- then won 9, drew 7, lost 3; conceded first in 17 -- pulled back 0 wins and 6 draws from them. Across every match where it trailed at some stage it recovered 7 points. - **Two-goal swings:** Led by two goals at some point in 6 of its 40 read, winning 5 of them; trailed by two in 7, rescuing 1 result; was ahead at some point without winning in 11. ## Step 4 of 4 — The bookies' favourite markets **Averaging the two sides' own rates: over 2.5 goals in 39% of their games, both teams scoring in 57%, and a two-goal lead for one side or the other in 38%. On the record this leans a tight match.** Step four is THE BOOKIES' FAVOURITE MARKETS -- over and under, both teams to score, and the two-goal lead that pays the 2UP offer out early -- read from what these two sides have actually produced, with the denominator on every figure. Still no price: these are the match's tendencies, not its odds. How the counting works, once for the whole step: every figure is counted over ONE side's own matches -- Partick Thistle's numbers over its games, Ayr United's over its own. The two clubs are never pooled into one denominator; where a single figure for this fixture is wanted, it is the AVERAGE of the two sides' rates, and says so. For the 2UP offer the fact that matters is a two-goal lead for one team or the other at ANY point, not the final margin. In Partick Thistle's own 20 home matches read, one appeared in 8 (40%). In Ayr United's own 20 away matches read, 7 (35%). Averaging the two sides' rates -- never pooling their matches -- that is 38% of games. ### Partick Thistle -- at home - **Over and under:** Over 2.5 goals in 16 of its own 40 (40%); over 1.5 in 29 (72%); over 3.5 in 10 (25%). At home: over 2.5 in 8 of its 20 (40%). - **Both teams to score:** Both teams scored in 22 of its own 40 (55%). At home: 10 of its 20 (50%). - **Clean sheets and blanks:** Kept a clean sheet in 16 of its own 40 (40%); failed to score in 8 (20%). - **Two goals clear:** Counted over Partick Thistle's own 40 matches read: Partick Thistle or the side it was playing that day went two goals up in 16 (40%). Partick Thistle itself held the lead in 11, winning 10. In its home matches: one side or the other went two up in 8 of 20. ### Ayr United -- away - **Over and under:** Over 2.5 goals in 15 of its own 40 (38%); over 1.5 in 29 (72%); over 3.5 in 6 (15%). Away: over 2.5 in 9 of its 20 (45%). - **Both teams to score:** Both teams scored in 24 of its own 40 (60%). Away: 13 of its 20 (65%). - **Clean sheets and blanks:** Kept a clean sheet in 9 of its own 40 (22%); failed to score in 11 (28%). - **Two goals clear:** Counted over Ayr United's own 40 matches read: Ayr United or the side it was playing that day went two goals up in 12 (30%). Ayr United itself held the lead in 6, winning 5. In its away matches: one side or the other went two up in 7 of 20. ## Your appraisal — and now the market **The table makes Partick Thistle the bigger side: 2nd against 7th of 10 last season. Against the block the other keeps: Partick Thistle takes 2.00 points a game, Ayr United 0.92 -- the block form is Partick Thistle's. +1.25 points a game is the venue form gap, in Partick Thistle's favour: Partick Thistle takes 2.30 a game at home over the last two seasons, Ayr United 1.05 away. Partick Thistle scores heaviest in the 1-15 spell and concedes heaviest in 61-75; Ayr United scores heaviest in 16-30 and concedes heaviest in 76-90+. Averaging the two sides' own rates: over 2.5 goals in 39% of their games, both teams scoring in 57%, and a two-goal lead for one side or the other in 38%. On the record this leans a tight match.** If the pattern holds -- and a pattern is a shape, not a promise: the first blow is even money on the record (22 of 40 and 19 of 40); when a lead builds towards 2UP it is more often Partick Thistle's -- two goals clear in 11 of 40, against 6 of 40; a one-goal lead has not been safe in Partick Thistle's hands -- ahead without winning in 9 of 40; a one-goal lead has not been safe in Ayr United's hands -- ahead without winning in 11 of 40. That read is built from the four steps, with no price in your ear -- the steps hold the evidence if you want the post-mortem. Now the market gets its say. Where it agrees with you it got there first; where it does not, your read and the crowd's disagree -- that is the conversation this tool exists to set up, and no measured edge backs either side of it. The tissue is a plain goals model: Partick Thistle 1.59 goals expected, Ayr United 0.72, from two seasons of scoring rates (20 home matches and 20 away in the bank), shrunk toward the division average. It is calibrated against nothing and claims no edge -- it exists to make your view concrete before the market speaks. - **Match result:** Our tissue: Partick Thistle 1.71 (58%), the draw 4.01 (25%), Ayr United 5.99 (17%). The market's averages: 1.55, 3.80 and 4.80. The widest gap is on Ayr United: the market is shorter (4.80) than our 5.99 -- it rates that outcome more than we do. - **Over or under 2.5 goals:** Our tissue: over 2.5 2.46 (41%), under 2.5 1.69 (59%). The market's averages: over 2.5 1.78, under 2.5 2.01. The market is shorter than our number on over 2.5. - **Both teams to score:** Our tissue: yes 2.45 (41%), no 1.69 (59%). The market's averages: yes 1.85, no 1.88. The market is shorter than our number on yes. - **The 2UP fact:** For the 2UP offer the fact that matters is a two-goal lead for one team or the other at ANY point, not the final margin. In Partick Thistle's own 20 home matches read, one appeared in 8 (40%). In Ayr United's own 20 away matches read, 7 (35%). Averaging the two sides' rates -- never pooling their matches -- that is 38% of games. No tissue is offered for this -- the played-match rates above are the honest read. The market figures are the AVERAGE pre-match odds our feed records across books, not a best price -- a shaded average, so small gaps mean nothing. ## Half-time The HTML page reads the second half from any half-time score you give it: /football/wizard/scottish-championship/2026-09-05/partick-thistle-v-ayr-united/halftime/ Built 2026-09-05T05:39:05+00:00 from matches completed before kick-off.