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Thistle have been absent from the Premiership for five years.

Stats suggest that's likely to extend to six as no team has ever been promoted to the Premiership via the play-offs after finishing fourth.

But Kris Doolan and his players won't think like that one bit. They come into this in fantastic form, with just one defeat in their last 15.

"We've not limped into the play-offs. We've come in strong," Doolan told the BBC's Scottish Football podcast.

"Records have to be set at some point. Records have to be broken at some point. So, why not us? Why can't we be the team that buck the trend and be that team from fourth place that go the full way?"

There he is. The main man, nowhere to be seen in the Ayr squad tonight.

Dipo Akinyemi finished the Championship season as the league's top scorer with 20 goals. He's managed 24 in all competitions.

How big a blow his absence could turn out to be...

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Thistle have the edge on this season's meetings.

Ayr dished out a 4-2 defeat to the Glasgow side in October, but Thistle responded with back-to-back wins in December and February before both sides played out a 1-1 draw at Firhill in April.

There have been 14 goals across the four games. Keep it up, lads.

We've got you covered on screen and text again this evening.

Our TV coverage from Firhill kicks off at the usual time of 19:30 BST on the BBC Scotland channel.

Just click play at the top of this page when the time comes.

Kris Doolan has named an unchanged Thistle side for tonight's first leg.

The Firhill boss has no reason to switch it up given his team dished out a second-leg hammering away to Queen's Park last Friday.

Continuity is key for the Thistle manager.

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Look away now, Ayr fans. Your star man, 24-goal Dipo Akinyemi is OUT. The striker misses tonight's first leg with sickness bug.

He drops out the side that started the 2-1 win away to Inverness a fortnight ago along with Sam Ashford.

In come Daire O'Connor and Mark McKenzie to replace.

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Partick Thistle: Mitchell, McMillan, Holt, Brownlie, Turner, Tiffoney, Graham, Lawless, Fitzpatrick, Muirhead, Docherty.

Substitutes: Sneddon, Dowds, McKinnon, Mullen, Owens, MacKenzie, Stevenson.

Ayr Utd: Albinson, Reading, McGinty, Musonda, Hewitt, Dempsey, Murdoch, Maguire, Mullin, O'Connor, McKenzie.

Substitutes: McAdams, McAlear, Jenkins, Kirk, Smith, McAllister, Bryden, Ashford, Mitchell-Lawson.

Right, no messing about. Let's get straight to the team news.

It's big...

Heard something about a bit of play-off madness down the road last night.

Wait 'til they find out what's been happening up here the past fortnight.

Partick Thistle versus Ayr United. For a place in the Premiership play-off final. First leg kicks off in half an hour.

Image source, SNS

Image source, SNS