Seventh meets tenth in this weekend's derby at East End Park. Dunfermline can extend the current unbeaten run against Falkirk to a fifth game, while aiming for what would be just a second home win in the Championship this season. Falkirk are rooted to the foot of the table in what has been a dreadful season for the club - long may it continue!
​Here is the current Championship table:

DUNFERMLINE
There has rarely been a more straightforward win against Falkirk than in the most recent fixture between the teams, when the Pars won 2-0 at the home of our rivals last month. That game was followed by 2 defeats and a draw before last week's win at Alloa. This uneven sequence is why the team are still in the wrong half of the table, in 7th place; only 4 points off the top 4 but having scored the least number of goals, and with the worst goal difference, of the top 7 teams.
The team have, however, shown promise in the past 2 outings - the draw at Inverness and then the previously-mentioned game at Alloa. Goalscoring is still a concern but there is enough ability in the team to see off Falkirk before we have a week off next week due to the scheduled game against Ross County being moved because of the Highlanders' participation in the Irn Bru Cup. 

Team, formation, etc
The team that ended the game at Alloa last week - with the exception of Aidan Keena replacing last week's sub striker Faissal El Bakhtaoui - would be my lineup for tomorrow's game. This would see the right wing combination of Ryan Williamson and Kallum Higginbotham reunited for a first team start together for the first time in several months - injuries to both players plus Ryzo's involvement with the Scotland Under 21 squad has deprived the team of 2 of its best players, who also combine better than any other duo in the squad. 
The rest of the team should stay the same - Keena to start up front, with Faissal coming off the bench. As mentioned in the Wishlist article here, I would like to see AJ utilising his subs as he did last weekend, giving players time to make an impact.  
Tom Beadling, Mark Durnan and Louis Longridge are still unavailable through injury.
Preferred starting 11:

FALKIRK
Inheriting a shambles from former boss Paul Hartley, Falkirk manager Ray McKinnon has struggled to oversee any improvement in his team's results since taking over. Limited to signing out of contract players, McKinnon has largely had to make do with Hartley's signings, and must be counting down the days until the January transfer window opens. Ex-Hearts midfielder Prince Buaben joined on 1 October, after being without a club since the end of last season.
McKinnon had this to say to local media this week:
"I’m using all my contacts from when I was running courses for the SFA and you come across a lot of coaches and different people. I know Duncan Ferguson at Everton and players are being mentioned to us. 
"It’s not just about contacts. It’s about the best quality of young players being available to come to Scotland. A lot of teams in England look at clubs to send their players out to the Championship clubs – Premier League sides can send their best youngster out to Aston Villa for example. They might think of the next level down to League One for some – they can go to Sunderland there. So you need to be very careful of what sort of players are available to come to Scotland. We are working hard between now and January to see what we can source.
“The club made a statement about there being funds there which is great and very supportive and we are appreciative of that. We have just got to make sure that if we can use it that we use it wisely. We need to bring players in that are better than what we’ve got and get the right balance in the team. We are looking at changing the dynamics of the team and that’s what we will work on for the next eight weeks.”
McKinnon added to his squad this week with the signing of former Portsmouth and Partick Thistle rightback Mustapha Dumbaya, although the Falkirk manager stated that the player, given an initial 8 week contract, is still short of match fitness. 

Ninth plays seventh in this week's Championship match at the Indodrill Stadium in Alloa. Dunfermline have found Alloa difficult opponents this season, with a goalless draw in the League fixture at East End Park on 15 September, and a 2-2 draw in the Irn Bru Cup last month, which was followed by Alloa winning the penalty shootout at the end of the 90 minutes to progress to the next round.
Here is the current Championship table:

DUNFERMLINE
Dunfermline ended October with 1 win from 4 League matches and occupying seventh place in the table. Such is the competitive nature of the division, there is still a closeable gap of 5 points between the Pars and the fourth place that would secure involvement in another promotion play-off come the end of the season. However, the gap between Dunfermline and the teams below (including tomorrow's opponents) is slender and we should expect some improvement in the months ahead from Partick Thistle and Falkirk, currently eighth and tenth. 
Aidan Keena's 2 goals at Inverness gave the team a huge boost and the teenage on-loan Hearts striker will lead the Pars attack tomorrow. Goals need to come from other areas however; of our central midfielders, only James Vincent and Joe Thomson have scored this season, and they have just 1 goal apiece. Our top scorers are on 5 goals - Myles Hippolyte, Louis Longridge and Andy Ryan.

Team, formation, etc
Five changes were made to the team that faced Inverness - some through choice and others (Tom Beadling and James Vincent, replaced by Malaury Martin and Joe Thomson) through injury. James Craigen, who had been ineffectual in right midfield against Dundee United last weekend, moved to right back at the expense of Ryan Williamson. While I look forward to the eventual reuniting of the Williamson/Higginbotham right wing combination, I would retain Craigen in defence for the immediate future. The other changes were all largely successful - the biggest success obviously being Aidan Keena, with 2 goals on his first start for the team.  Beadling and Vincent are expected to miss tomorrow's game and so I would select the same 11 players to start the match. I would like to see Higgy get some much needed game time from the bench for at least 20 minutes. 
​Preferred starting 11:

ALLOA
As Dunfermline have experienced in games against Alloa this season, the Wasps are a well-organised side that have made themselves difficult to beat, while lacking the creativity required to win a greater number of games. Being the only part time club in the division, avoiding relegation will be a successful season for Alloa and their manager Jim Goodwin, who completed 100 matches in charge last weekend. Goodwin reflected on his time in charge of the club and his hopes for this season, speaking to local media:
''I'm very lucky to have been given the opportunity 2 years ago. I'm delighted to be here - I'm really enjoying my time here. I've got great backroom staff, great people up the stairs but more importantly I've got a great group of players that are now starting to believe that they are more than capable of competing at this level. People wrote us off before a ball was kicked, expecting us to be detached but the fact of the matter is, we're more than matching the opposition. I can't fault the players' effort - they give me absolutely everything and if they carry on doing that, they'll be fine.
''My ambition is to go full time but I'm not in any hurry - I'm 36 years old and very young when you consider some of the other managers that are out there. I'm loving life at Alloa at the moment. If I'm here for another hundred games then fantastic - it would mean I'm doing something right. It's a great place to be, I've got a great relationship with the chairman - he knows I want to go full time but at the same time this is a great place for me to learn. The longer I'm here, the more I'll learn."

Fifth plays seventh in what will be a chilly Highland evening, with both teams looking for a win to end recent winless runs. Inverness are specialists at avoiding defeat but have drawn too many games, while Dunfermline need to rediscover the spirit shown in the last League meeting between the sides at the Caledonian Stadium in April. 
Here is the current Championship table:

DUNFERMLINE
Despite being only 5 points off the promotion pack - largely due to so many teams taking points off each other, pulling the division together with few gaps yet to develop - there is a definite air of despondency in the Pars team and support. The team's form has been uninspiring, while the manager has yet to show any signs of being able to fire up his underperforming squad. Saturday's tepid display in the defeat to Dundee United characterised recent form; there is a fragility within this group of players and a lack of bite, an unwillingness to fight for a result. There is talent - early season games showed that much - but a winning mentality must be developed otherwise this could be a very long, hard season.

Team, formation etc
With the above comments in mind, the team I have selected for this evening's game has a slightly more physical edge to it than recent lineups. The defence almost selects itself, given the lack of options (Mark Durnan and Lewis Martin are injured), but in midfield I was glad to see Tom Beadling complete his first 90 minutes of first team football this season at the weekend, and he will hopefully progress from that and be a big influence on the team. Alongside Beadling, I would reinstate Malaury Martin, who is technically the team's best footballer.
The wings have been a major problem lately, with no player making a decent claim for a sustained run in the team. AJ has stuck with Louis Longridge for too long - we still don't know exactly what his ''best'' position is, so I would move him to the bench for tonight's game. Kallum Higginbotham has had 2 run-outs in reserve games and has had a further week's training since last week's most recent reserve game. I would start him tonight, even though he may not last the full game. We need his skill and aggression back in the team, and also to reunite the right wing partnership with Ryan Williamson. On the left, I would select Myles Hippolyte, partly for his height: we need a mixture of taller players in the team, so I would select Hippolyte and Beadling rather than Joe Thomson and Aidan Connolly; Inverness are a tall, physical side and we need to counter that effectively. 
Up front, Faissal should be rested. I have selected Andy Ryan and Aidan Keena - we need a new approach to our goalscoring problems and Keena deserves a chance to show what he can do. Having seen Robbie Muirhead in reserve games, I do not feel he is the answer.
Preferred Pars line-up:

INVERNESS CALEY THISTLE
Undefeated in the past 21 League games stretching back to last season, Inverness have drawn too many games (including their last 5) and although conceding 10 goals less in the League than Dunfermline, have won the same number of games as the Pars this term: 3. 
The goalless draw at Alloa on Saturday did not please Inverness boss John Robertson. Always one of Scottish football's most candid managers, Robertson looked back on the game at Alloa and his team's recent form: 
​"Alloa deserved to win the game. We didn't get going - we didn't pass, we didn't move. We spoke to the players at half time about what we needed - on and off the ball - and while we improved in the second half, it was nowhere near to the level you need to win games. 
''It's another draw and in the past we've been disappointed at dropping points, today is a point gained as we didn't deserve anything from that performance. I apologise to the Inverness fans who travelled down because we were nowhere near at it. We put a wee bit of pressure on them at the end but it would have been daylight robbery if we'd come away with all 3 points.
''We need to start winning games. That's 10 games and 7 draws. We need to find a way to unlock defences, whether it's a formation change or a personnel change."

Seventh plays fourth in this Championship game at East End Park tomorrow, with an improved Dundee United side hoping to maintain their unbeaten start under recently-appointed manager Robbie Neilson. Dunfermline are looking for just a second home League win of the season and badly need a positive result to prevent a gap developing under the top 4 teams.
Here is the current Championship table:

DUNFERMLINE
Tomorrow's game against United will bring a different type of challenge to a Pars side which was able to dominate possession in the last League game, at home to Queen of the South, last Saturday. United are unlikely to concede the ball as much as a Queens side that were happy to occasionally hit on the break. That their only shot at goal gave them a 1-0 win merely added to the frustration in the EEP stands and put manager Allan Johnston under pressure once again. Recent results may have improved but performances have been well below the standard required of a serious promotion contending team. We need to see a return to the form showed in the second half of the opening day win at Tannadice, or the Betfred Cup game against Hearts, which even in defeat produced a spirited and commendable Pars performance.

Team, formation, etc
Last week's team was unchanged from that which drew and then lost a penalty shootout to Alloa the week before in the Irn Bru Cup. Allan Johnston rarely makes changes, or not to any great extent, but there is a need to refresh the team, which has become predictable and stagnant. Having seen fringe players lose at Falkirk in the Reserve League on Tuesday, very few made a real stake for a first team place, which was very disappointing; while many fans have called for Tom Beadling and Robbie Muirhead to play against United tomorrow, neither player impressed against Falkirk reserves, and if judged on that alone do not look better options than the players currently in the first team. So while there is a need to refresh, options are limited. 
Ryan Williamson had a decent game in the reserve match and should come back into the first team tomorrow. Last week we had nothing on the right, with makeshift rightback James Craigen lacking pace to get up the wing, and right winger Louis Longridge continually drifting infield. Kallum Higginbotham has played 45 and 70 minutes in the last 2 reserve matches but is not yet fit enough to start a first team game; the sooner he and Williamson reunite on the right, the better.
If Mark Durnan has fully recovered from his recent injury he should replace Danny Devine in central defence; I would change the wide areas with both Louis Longridge and Aidan Connolly benched and replaced by James Craigen (moving back into midfield) and Myles Hippolyte. I would be very surprised if AJ made those changes. 
​Up front, I would give Aidan Keena a start alongside Andy Ryan. 
​Preferred starting 11:

DUNDEE UNITED
After dispensing with circus clown Csaba Laszlo, United have picked up 4 points from 6 under new boss Robbie Neilson. With 3 ex-Pars in the United squad, including 2 who rejected new contracts with Dunfermline (Nicky Clark and Fraser Aird), there is an added spice to the match. United's form has undoubtedly picked up and they will benefit from having a competent manager in the dugout, something they haven't had for quite some time.
Robbie Neilson had this to say in the lead up to this weekend's game:
“Obviously Dunfermline did well in the Betfred Cup and then they had a great start to the season against Dundee United at Tannadice winning 3-2. I watched a bit of the game before I came in here and it was a great performance. It has been a bit sticky since then.
“I think they have found it a wee bit difficult to get some momentum. But this league is difficult. I watched their game against Queen of the South on Saturday and they probably deserved to win it. But they lost a poor goal towards the end and dropped three points.
“It is going to be a tough game as it always is down there. I would like to think we will take a very good support to East End Park and if we display the same energy as we showed the previous two Saturdays, then there is a good chance of getting a result.”

Fifth plays sixth in tomorrow's game at East End Park, with a Pars side that has conceded just 1 League goal in the past 4 Championship games coming up against the player with the best goals to game ratio in all European football this season, Stephen Dobbie. Both teams exited the Irn Bru Cup last week but while Dunfermline's recent League results have shown a gradual improvement, Queens have hit a sticky spell with their last League victory coming back on September 1st. 
Here is the current Championship table:

DUNFERMLINE
The disappointment of effectively throwing away a victory in last weekend's Irn Bru Cup loss to Alloa, going out after a penalty shoot out following a 2-2 draw in a game we largely controlled, will hopefully act as the catalyst for a more clinical performance tomorrow, securing a win that would keep the Pars in touch of the top 4. After a poor run of results in August and early September, the Dunfermline team have been tighter at the back in recent Championship games. The past 4 League games have resulted in 2 draws and then 2 wins, with the team unbeaten over 90 minutes in the past 6 League and Cup fixtures. Despite this improvement, there are still deficiencies that bubble under the surface: the 2 defensive errors that handed Alloa both their goals last week, plus a lack of clinical edge in front of goal. 

Team, formation etc
Ryan Williamson is available again after being away with Scotland Under 21s. Kallum Higginbotham and Lewis Martin both made their returns from injury in the team's midweek Reserve Cup game against Motherwell, with both players featuring in the first half and requiring more game time before being ready for the first team. Mark Durnan, who missed the Alloa game with a groin injury, could be fit for tomorrow, with AJ stating that the player is still feeling "a niggle''. Tom Beadling continued his recovery from a long term injury absence with 90 minutes against Motherwell reserves. 
​For the game tomorrow, I would select Durnan if fit. Danny Devine, who was at fault for Alloa's second goal last week, would continue in central defence if Durnan has not recovered sufficiently. The only definite change I would make to last week's starting 11 would be to bring in Myles Hippolyte up front to replace Faissal El Bakhtaoui. I have consistently backed Faissal this season but with no League goals, a change has to be made at some point. Faissal has undoubted talent but does not look like a goal threat at the moment. Hippolyte, who has said that playing as a striker is his preferred position, would start in my team alongside Andy Ryan. As noted above, Devine's inclusion depends on the fitness of Durnan.
Preferred Pars line-up:

QUEEN OF THE SOUTH
The incredible goalscoring form of Stephen Dobbie - 24 goals in 16 games this season, with the best scoring rate per game in Europe - has masked Queen of the South's recent poor run of form, with no wins in their last 4 League games and an exit from the Irn Bru Cup last week at East Fife. Dobbie has scored 75% of Queens' League goals and is clearly the team's pivotal figure but when marshalled well by the opposition, as in the East Fife game, the chances of succeeding against the Dumfries side rise considerably. Only 6 players have scored for Queens this season in all League and Cup games - second top scorer Lyndon Dykes has 5 goals, and the team's non-Dobbie goals add up to 13, just over half of Dobbie's own total. 
Speaking after the defeat from East Fife last week, and referring to Queens' record against Championship opposition and also against lower division teams in the Cups this season, manager Gary Naysmith had this to say:
"I want them to be hurting as much as I'm hurting. That's 2 weeks now that I've said it - you're not going to win games playing well for 20 or 30 minutes and in the last 2 games that's what we've done. We've only played well for parts of the game and it's not good enough. We need to get it right and get a reaction from the players. We have to start keeping clean sheets. It's a worry - I don't like the fact that we've played against Ayr, Inverness and Ross County - the 3 top teams in the Championship and got 3 clean sheets, yet when we're playing East Fife or Stranraer, or Crusaders or Alloa, that we're conceding twos or threes. It's the same players that are playing and the same formation. Every game's difficult in the Championship but it's more difficult when you're giving away that goals that we are and it needs to stop.''

A Pars win over holders Inverness in the opening round of this season's Irn Bru Cup - with practically a reserve team - was followed up with a weekend away in Hertfordshire and a penalty shoot out win against Boreham Wood. Suddenly, the competition has become relevant, with many top end Championship teams already eliminated and a real chance of winning a trophy developing. Alloa make a second visit to EEP in 4 weeks after the dire goalless draw in the Championship game on 15 September. We can only hope for a much better game along with progression into the  next round - even those of us who initially derided the Irn Bru Cup. 

DUNFERMLINE
The 0-0 draw (followed by success in a penalty shoot-out) against Boreham Wood in the last round of the Irn Bru Cup began a sequence of games where the Pars defence tightened up, after shipping goals with worrying regularity (by the start of September we had the second worst goals against record in all 4 SPFL divisions). After Boreham Wood came a turgid 0-0 slog at home to Alloa, followed by a 1-1 draw at Morton - their goal being completely avoidable, a goalkeeping error - then 1-0 and 2-0 wins over Partick Thistle and Falkirk. The goal conceded at Morton is the only opposition goal in the past 456 minutes of Pars football; and while we have hardly been prolific in front of goal ourselves, the first priority for any team with ambitions to win more games than they lose is to stop conceding goals. That may sound obvious but it was the key to our revival last season and there are signs of a repeat this term. 

Pars team, formation etc
Allan Johnston stated yesterday that he would play an experienced team this weekend, with possibly a couple of changes. This would not reflect badly on any players dropping out of the starting 11 that defeated Falkirk so convincingly; the Irn Bru Cup gives the manager a chance to give certain players, including those returning from injury, game time. Who misses out tomorrow is a difficult decision, as to accomodate Tom Beadling would mean 'resting' James Vincent or Malaury Martin; while in defence, Danny Devine could be involved, at the expense of either Mark Durnan or Lee Ashcroft. 
Ryan Williamson is unavailable due to international duties with the Scotland Under 21 squad.
I would make just one change - bringing Beadling into the team. Vincent (who I rated our third best player against Falkirk in the 'Ranked' article here) would make way but might expect to be back in next week against Queen of the South in the Championship.

ALLOA
Lack of goals blighted Alloa's otherwise promising start to the season, with too many draws but few defeats. That was until last week, when they raced into a 3-0 lead at Queen of the South until a Stephen Dobbie hat trick meant the game ended 3-3. Another draw; they also achieved a creditable share of the points at Inverness after fighting back with 10 men to get a late equaliser; there have been draws too with Dundee United and ourselves. They were unfortunate not to get another point at Ross County, losing 1-0 to a late goal. So while Alloa have shown they can compete with more-fancied teams, they have still to prove that they can win. 
This summer, Alloa signed striker Greig Spence for the fourth time in his career (including loan spells) but after hitting 2 goals on his debut - a League Cup game against Arbroath - he failed to score in any of the following 10 matches and was an unused substitute last week at Palmerston. Lack of firepower may prove to be Alloa's undoing this season; before the 3-3 draw last week, they had scored just 3 goals in 7 League games.

Few would have predicted that after a combined 14 League games, Dunfermline and Falkirk would have recorded only 3 victories, 2 of which came last weekend. Occupying 2 of the 3 bottom positions in the Championship, both clubs still target promotion this season - Falkirk stated as much when replacing manager Paul Hartley with Ray McKinnon​ - and the same message is a regular part of Pars boss Allan Johnston's weekly mantra in his pre-game interview, the latest of which can be seen here. 
Here is the current Championship table:

DUNFERMLINE
Last Friday evening saw the Pars record a League win for the first time since the opening weekend. The game itself - a 1-0 slog against Partick Thistle - was fairly forgettable with the exception of the last 10 minutes when both teams awoke from their slumber and began to attack. Clearly we need to see more of this, spread over the full 90 minutes, for even with an improved defensive return in the past 4 weeks (one goal conceded in 4 games), the entertainment factor has been consistently low. 
The reserve game on Tuesday against Dundee saw Dunfermline win 5-0 and a welcome 90 minutes for Tom Beadling - his first full game since returning from injury - in addition to game time for Robbie Muirhead, who has yet to reach match fitness since joining the club at the end of August. Beadling may not be quite fit enough to be considered for a starting place against Falkirk but his imminent return will be a huge boost for the team: the prospect of a central midfield pairing of Beadling and Malaury Martin is very promising for our ambitions this season.  

​PARS TEAM, FORMATION ETC
Ryan Williamson may come back into the starting 11 after returning to the squad as an unused sub last week, following a spell out injured. That would mean either a shift back to midfield for stand-in fullback James Craigen, unless the manager retains his current midfield selections, with Craigen then dropping to the bench. Midfield is certainly the most competitive area of the team for a starting slot - Joe Thomson impressed when coming off the bench last week and could feature tomorrow. The rest of the defence picks itself, and up front it would be a surprise if the current pairing of Faissal El Bakhtaoui and Andy Ryan did not start the game tomorrow. Faissal, yet to score a League goal, still remains a better option than Myles Hippolyte or Muirhead. 
I would bring Williamson back into the starting 11 but change the shape of the team to a 4-3-1-2 formation rather than last week's 4-4-2, with Louis Longridge playing behind the front 2 as opposed to the right wing, where I fell he lacks the speed or aggression to get past a fullback. This would mean a more compact midfield of James Vincent, Malaury Martin and Aidan Connolly.
Here is my preferred Pars line-up:

FALKIRK
After jumping ship from Morton in controversial circumstances, Ray McKinnon recorded his first win as Falkirk boss at Alloa last Saturday. His team still sit last in the table but will look towards tomorrow's game as a chance to cut the gap above them to a couple of points. McKinnon signed former Hearts midfielder Prince Buaben this week and had this to say about his new signing and the chances of signing other out of contract players: 
“Prince has played at a good level, he is a very good footballer. He has great stature, he’s a big lad who is comfortable on the ball with bags of experience. That is everything we need at the moment. I think he’ll turn out to be a really good signing for us. 
“If there are people still available that can make us better, then we’ll certainly be looking at them. There are still a lot of players out there looking for clubs and trying to do certain things, who were maybe looking to go abroad, that could be options.
“We are still looking, we need to. My job is to continually improve Falkirk Football Club and I’ll look at people at any time of the season if I think they can improve us.''

After 6 League games, the Pars and Partick - who both began the season with Premiership aspirations -  occupy eighth and sixth positions in the table, several places behind surprise leaders Ayr United. Thistle can narrow that gap with what would be a first away win (and points) of the season, while Dunfermline look to win a League game for the first time since the opening round of fixtures. 
Here is the current Championship table:

DUNFERMLINE
Five League games without a win and no victories at home in this season's Championship do not make good reading for Pars boss Allan Johnston, who has seen his team struggle after an encouraging start to the season in the League Cup, which was then followed up with a win at Tannadice in the first League game. Winless since and lack of goals have derailed the Pars season but Johnston will be encouraged by the team's display against Morton last week. Changes to the starting 11 paid off, with midfielder Malaury Martin particularly impressive and Andy Ryan, wasted on the bench for much of this season, scoring his 4th goal of the season, and averaging a goal every 91 minutes this term in his limited time on the pitch. Ryan will hope to celebrate his birthday weekend (he turns 24 on Saturday) with a goal this evening, in a game that is being shown live on BBC Alba. 
This is the second of a 3 game period that could be pivotal in Dunfermline's season, and for the manager's future. After the draw at Cappielow, which should have resulted in a win but for a goalkeeping error late in the game, the focus on both this evening's game and next weekend's trip to bottom of the table Falkirk becomes even greater. In terms of tonight, ordinarily a draw against a side just relegated from the Premiership would be an acceptable result, but in the context of Dunfermline's season, we have to start winning, especially at home. What happens tonight will then have a bearing on the significance of next week's game - but for now, we can only concentrate on tonight, under the floodlights and live on television, and secure a first home win of the season in the League.

PARTICK THISTLE
Relegated from the Premiership after losing to Livingston in the play-off final last season, Thistle retained manager Alan Archibald and began the season as one of the favourites to win the 2018/19 Championship. Strong home form (3 wins from 3 games) but a poor away record (losing all 3 matches) sees Thistle in a mid-table position but only 4 points off the lead, with a chance to enter the top 3 should they win this evening's game. A summer clear-out following that relegation did not include old standbys such as Kris Doolan and Chris Erskine, who will once again be important figures for Archibald's team. Striker Doolan has been with Thistle since 2009, making 358 appearances and scoring 114 goals, while midfielder Erskine, who also joined the club in 2009 but who had a spell with Dundee United in season 2013/14 before returning to Firhill, has made 260 appearances for Thistle, with 53 goals.
Thistle have been frustrated in their bid to bring in former Kilmarnock striker Souleymane Coulibaly from Egyptian club Al Alhy, with the Egyptian FA refusing to grant an international transfer certificate. Coulibaly attempted to break his contract with the Egyptian club and was ordered by FIFA to pay compensation to Al Ahly, which he has not yet done. In the meantime, Thistle are unable to register the player and he has been training with a junior club in Ayrshire to maintain his fitness. 

Sixth plays eighth in tomorrow's Championship match at Cappielow with Morton playing under new manager Jonatan Johansson for the first time at home. Allan Johnston will remove his tracksuit from its shoogly peg and aim for a second League victory of the season and the first since opening day. Neither side have been prolific in front of goal but Morton have by far the better defensive record going into the game.
Here is the current Championship table:

DUNFERMLINE
Two successive clean sheets, against Boreham Wood and Alloa, have provided some type of basis for an improvement in results providing we can also find a way to score at the other end. Tomorrow's game will provide a far stiffer test than we have faced on the past 2 Saturdays. Morton have assembled a decent squad with players such as Denny Johnstone, Chris Millar, Jim McAlister and Michael Tidser, all of whom are better than dependable Championship players, the type that could help the Greenock team sneak into a top 4 promotion play-off place come the end of the season. To achieve a positive result in this game, we will need a much improved performance from the Pars team than we have watched over the past few weeks, one that echoes the best of this season: the games against Dundee and Dundee United away and Hearts at home. 

PARS TEAM, FORMATION ETC
Ryan Williamson is an injury doubt for tomorrow but assuming he is fit, I would move James Craigen to right midfield​, and play a 4-4-1-1 system with Louis Longridge playing just behind Faissal. I hope to see the ball on the grass as opposed to rising and dipping in the Renfrewshire air, and with that in mind I have selected Aidan Connolly on the left wing. Let's not ask our top striker to battle in the air with much taller and more physical opponents, but instead get the ball on the ground and pass, pass, pass. 
Here is my preferred Pars line-up:

MORTON
After manager Ray McKinnon jumped ship to Falkirk, Morton were quick to appoint Jonatan Johansson as McKinnon's replacement. The former Finnish international striker, who had a period as Morton's youth team coach in 2012, is in his first managerial role after a coaching roles at Motherwell (2012-2015) and then as assistant manager for both the Finnish international team and Rangers.
Johansson's first game in charge of Morton ended in a 1-1 draw at Tannadice, losing an equaliser in injury time. After the game, he had this to say:
''We have to be clinical when we are on top and have chances. We also have to learn how important the small details are in set plays and how important it is to get the second goal when teams against us are taking risks. When you're leading, game management is a skill and is something we need to get better at.'' 
Regarding his team selection, Johansson said: ''It's easy to look too much into your opponents' strengths. We have to line up in a way that we can hurt them: be positive, get the ball into their half. If you sit back, it is a negative and gives the opponents confidence.'' 

Two clubs with different pre-season expectations play each other tomorrow with only 1 League place separating an under-performing Dunfermline side from visitors Alloa, the Championship's only part-time team. After a winless run of games, tomorrow represents a must-win for Allan Johnston. 
​Here is the current Championship table:

DUNFERMLINE
No wins since the opening day of the League season and the country's second worst goals against record: the past month has been a huge disappointment for all concerned with Dunfermline. Shipping goals to opposing teams who have not had to play particularly well has been a recurrent theme. A first clean sheet in 8 games (League and Cups) and a penalty shoot out win in last weekend's goalless draw at Boreham Wood in the Irn Bru Cup could not disguise the lack of quality football being played during the 90 minutes. The early League Cup performances hinted at a bright season ahead, and it is that type of form that must be recaptured, starting this weekend. 

​The team formation reverted to 4-4-2 last Saturday but as Allan Johnston admitted, that was mainly due to lack of central defenders to play the familiar 3-5-2. The manager has 2 centre halves available to him - unless Danny Devine recovers from injury - with Lewis Martin and Stuart Morrison (injured in last week's pre-match warm up) also unfit. So expect 4-4-2 tomorrow, but with no Kallum Higginbotham, out for a few weeks after a groin operation this week. 
Here is my preferred Pars line-up; lack of options in central defence means the only 2 fit centre halves must play; I have selected Myles Hippolyte on the right wing to replace the injured Higginbotham:

ALLOA
No League victories but proving a hard team to beat, Alloa have made a decent start to their season, with draws against Inverness and Dundee United. As Brechin City found out last season, getting that elusive first win is all important but I do not expect Alloa to be "this season's Brechin". 
Alloa boss Jim Goodwin guided his team to promotion through the play-offs at the end of last season and had this to say about his team in the build up to tomorrow's game: 
“The character is there and that’s brilliant but we can’t keep going a goal behind and relying on coming back. We need to be a bit more clinical in the final third. There were plenty of positives, but we do need to start taking our chances.
“We are creating chances, there’s no doubt about it. The likes of Greig Spence and Dario Zanatta just need to get up and running and then we’ll be fine. It would be a lot worse if we weren’t creating the chances.”