Scottish Championship PREVIEW 21 Aug 2026: Leaders Partick Visit Goal-Shy Inverness in Championship Clash

Inverness Caledonian Thistle host Partick Thistle on Friday in a meeting of very different starts to the Championship season. Partick sit top of the table on 6 points from two games, unbeaten with a goal difference of 3, while Inverness are seventh on 2 points, having drawn both of their opening fixtures. Our model makes this one close, favouring a draw at 42%.

Inverness have yet to find the net in the league: their two Championship games so far have both finished 0-0. Manager Scott Kellacher said he wants his forwards to convert the openings they have created, recalling that “I think we were the top scorers in Scotland last season, scoring 115 or 116 goals” and adding, “in our first two league games, we’ve had numerous chances and not taken them. If we keep getting into the right positions, hopefully that will turn.” He also flagged the visitors’ threat, saying “Partick will come here and back themselves to win the game, so we need to make sure that, as much as we want to be entertaining going forward, we need to make sure we’re solid as a team.” Notably, both sides have kept clean sheets in their opening two league matches.

Inverness’s build-up to this game included a Scottish League Cup exit at Tynecastle against Hearts, where Kellacher said his side would take more from the closing stages than the bulk of the display, noting he expected to “learn more from the last 10 minutes against Hearts than I will have from the first 83 minutes.”

The fixture was originally scheduled for Saturday 22 August but was moved to Friday evening after being selected for live coverage by BBC Scotland.