Scottish Championship form duo in BBC TV spotlight

Scott Brown and Rhys McCabe lock horns on Friday

The big Scottish Championship crowds will be at East End Park and Stark's Park this weekend, but Friday night brings together the two form teams of the second tier in front of BBC Scotland cameras (19:45 GMT).

In the spotlight as Ayr United host Airdrieonians will be two of Scotland's up-and-coming young managers.

The hosts have continued the improvement they showed last season as they narrowly avoided relegation after Scott Brown's first half-season as head coach.

The 39-year-old former Celtic and Scotland midfielder has put behind him the disappointment of being sacked after his first, short-lived spell in management with Fleetwood Town.

Ayr missed out on progression from their League Cup group on goal difference behind Championship rivals Falkirk and promoted Dundee United.

And Brown recognises that "in this league, anyone can beat anyone", telling Ayr United TV "that's the amazing thing about the Championship".

Even so, they started the league season with a convincing 2-0 win away to promoted Hamilton Academical and will be seeking a fourth consecutive win as the Diamonds visit Somerset Park.

Visiting player-manager Rhys McCabe has seen enough of Friday's hosts to remark that "it'll be a difficult task", especially as he has noticed "a good bit of progression from them" this season already as they adapt more to "the ideas" of Brown and his staff.

The former Rangers youth midfielder is seven years Brown's junior, but his two years as a team boss have packed in promotion from League 1 and a fourth-placed finish in their first season back in the second tier.

McCabe's side have also started this season in fine fettle, opening the Championship campaign with a 1-0 win at home to last season's runners-up, Raith Rovers.

Like Ayr, they have won four out of five of their outings this season, the only defeat coming away to top-tier opposition - in the visitors' case against Aberdeen, while the Honest Men fell to Dundee United - both by a single goal.

The Diamonds, though, have had a rough time of it recently against Ayr, who have won their six meetings since losing in North Lanarkshire in December 2017, and have not won at Somerset Park in five visits since a 3-0 success in April the previous year.

Striker Ben Wilson might be the man to change that, with the summer arrival from Cliftonville itching for his first league goal after hitting six in four League Cup group outings.

Ayr, though, have their own form men, with Anton Dowds scoring three times since the forward's loan from Partick Thistle was made permanent, the same number as on-loan Ross County midfielder Jay Henderson.

Livi look for quick return

At the same time as the TV spotlight falls on Somerset Park, Livingston will be looking to quietly build a head of steam of their own at the City Stadium as they seek a quick return to the Premiership.

Many pundits are discounting David Martindale's side given a smaller fan base compared to some rivals - and the shock defeat at home to fourth-tier Spartans that put paid to League Cup progress cemented those feelings.

However, their fairly routine 2-0 dismissal of Dunfermline Athletic last weekend suggests otherwise as they made it four wins out of five this season.

Gone for Queen's Park this season are the bold predictions of promotion to the Premiership from previous regimes and Callum Davidson's side will simply look to put behind them an opening weekend defeat by promoted Falkirk and secure a third straight home win in the first meeting of the sides since they met in the third tier in 2017.

Fife alarm bells on big-game Saturday

Raith Rovers face their first game under caretaker team Colin Cameron and John Potter since Ian Murray's sacking, which shocked many observers because it came so soon after they narrowly lost the Premiership play-off final to Ross County.

The last time Partick Thistle visited Kirkcaldy they lost the semi-final on penalties despite winning 2-1 on the night to draw level on aggregate and end a run of five meetings between them last season without a win.

And there's a kind of symmetry also in their current records, with both being without a win in three outings barring a penalty shoot-out bonus point - Thistle against Motherwell and Rovers against Hamilton - after League Cup group-stage draws.

Like Rovers, alarm bells are ringing along the road in Dunfermline, who will welcome local rivals Falkirk - and probably the largest crowd of the weekend - looking to end a run of four straight defeats and seemingly with a lack of money to bolster the squad.

When they last met two seasons ago, Falkirk lost twice and the other two games were drawn as the Pars secured the League 1 title, but it is the team who followed them as champions who arrive cock a hoop after three wins in a row and having qualified top of their League Cup group.

Meanwhile, Greenock Morton will look to build on their 0-0 draw away to Thistle after an indifferent League Cup campaign as they entertain Hamilton.

Accies' start to the season has been blighted by an issue over the payment of wages, only one win in four League Cup group games and that opening-day loss at home to Ayr as they head to a venue where they lost by an aggregate of 7-0 on their past two visits two seasons ago.