Scottish Championship PREVIEW 12 Sep 2026: Ayr Host Inverness, Dunfermline Face Queen's Park, Raith Host Arbroath

Ayr United host Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Dunfermline Athletic host Queen's Park, and Raith Rovers host Arbroath in the Scottish Championship on 12 September 2026.

Ayr United manager Gary Naysmith, in his first season after arriving from Stenhousemuir in the summer, faces Inverness for the first time since taking charge; the visitors have injury concerns over David Wotherspoon, who is a calf injury away from involvement and expected to be out for weeks. Manager Scott Kellacher's Inverness side, who won last season's League One title, arrive off the back of their first home defeat of the campaign, beaten 0-2 by Raith Rovers after a late Jay Rowe header.

Dunfermline Athletic will be without manager Neil Lennon for the visit of Queen's Park: Lennon is serving a Scottish FA touchline ban and has also returned home to Northern Ireland following the death of his father, Gerry. Assistants Brunskill and McDonald take charge of the team in his absence. Dunfermline go into the match on the back of a 1-0 Fife derby win over Raith Rovers, settled by a Josh Cooper strike in the 88th minute, their first league win in five games. Queen's Park, managed by Sean Crighton, come into the fixture off their first league win of the season, 2-1 away at Greenock Morton, in which striker Michael Ruth scored both goals; defender Euan Murray was named in the SPFL Team of the Week after a previous 0-0 draw with Partick Thistle.

Raith Rovers, managed by Dougie Imrie, host Arbroath having beaten Inverness Caledonian Thistle away through Jay Rowe's late header before then losing 1-0 to Dunfermline Athletic in the Fife derby. Imrie said ahead of the Arbroath game that his side "have to make sure we're switched on from the first minute to the last minute", calling it "a good incentive" to bounce back. Arbroath, under co-managers Colin Hamilton and David Gold, were held 1-1 at home by Dunfermline Athletic in their last outing, Michael McKenna's second-half opener cancelled out by Josh Cooper's equaliser.