Scottish Premiership Play-Off Preview 2024/25
Craig Jones 
It's playoff time, which always provide us with some of the best football of the year.
Up in Scotland, their playoffs begin on Tuesday night and our Scottish football betting expert Kai Watson is here with us to preview the Premiership play-off competition.
Kai will be previewing all three play-off competitions for us over before they start on Tuesday, and will have betting tips for the second legs when they come next weekend.
Late Friday evening Falkirk were confirmed as champions of the Scottish Championship and cemented their place in next season’s Scottish Premiership.
However, now the play-off fun begins and although not all the clubs to compete are confirmed (the 11th placed Scottish Premiership side) the Championship places are set.
Scottish Premiership Play-Off Preview
How the start of these play-offs work is that the third and fourth placed sides in the Championship play a two-legged affair to go into the Scottish Premiership Play-Off Semi-Final. The winner of the Quarter-Final then plays the second placed side in the Semi-Final in another two legged tie.
Finally, the winner of that tie then takes on the eleventh placed side in the Scottish Premiership Play-Off Final, which, again, is over two legs and the winner of that takes their place in the Scottish Premiership the following season.
Scottish Premiership Play-Off Schedule
Here’s how the Scottish Premiership Play-Off schedule looks so far;
Tuesday May 6
- William Hill Premiership play-off quarter-final, 1st leg
- Partick Thistle v Ayr United
- Live on BBC Scotland, kick-off 7.45pm
Friday May 9
- William Hill Premiership play-off quarter-final, 2nd leg
- Ayr United v Partick Thistle
- Live on BBC Scotland, kick-off 7.45pm
Tuesday May 13
- William Hill Premiership play-off semi-final, 1st leg
- Winner of QF v Livingston
- Live on BBC Scotland, kick-off 7.45pm
Friday May 16
- William Hill Premiership play-off semi-final, 2nd leg
- Livingston v Winner of QF
- Live on BBC Scotland, kick-off 7.45pm
Thursday May 22
- William Hill Premiership play-off final, 1st leg
- Winner of SF v 11th in Premiership
- Live on Sky Sports, kick-off 8.00pm
Monday May 26
- William Hill Premiership play-off final, 2nd leg
- 11th in Premiership v Winner of SF
- Live on Sky Sports, kick-off 8.00pm
The Contenders
Let’s have a look at the teams competing in this season's Scottish Premiership Play-Offs and what they might bring in their quest to get to the top flight.
This will only focus on the Championship teams since the Scottish Premiership fixtures are still ongoing and multiple teams could finish in that eleventh place spot.
Partick Thistle
Going into the last game of the season it was a shoot-out between Partick Thistle and Raith Rovers. However, Brian Graham and Mark Wilson’s side beat title contenders Livingston 1-0 to seal fourth place and match up with Ayr in the first Play-Off round.
After a defeat to Hamilton and a 0-0 draw to Dunfermline, Partick Thistle fans probably feared the worst considering their last two games were against the top two sides. However, a 97th minute winner in a 2-1 win at home against Falkirk followed by the aforementioned victory against Livingston sealed an incredible end to their season.
They normally play with three at the back, using their wingbacks for width and either two or three up top. They’re tough to beat and have the third best defensive record in the league, behind the top two, having conceded 38 goals in 36 games.
They ended the season with the fifth best home record in the league, behind the top three and Raith, and with the fourth best away record in the league, again, behind the top three.
Going forward their biggest threats this season have been player-manager/striker Brian Graham and attacking midfielder/winger Logan Chalmers. Graham finished as the league's top scorer with 15 goals, two ahead of his closest competitors. Chalmers has 7G/7A in 28 this season and is a creative and driving force within their attack.
Partick will be competitive and hard to beat, particularly with the experience of the likes of Sean Kelly, Lee Ashcroft and Kyle Turner alongside Brian Graham.
They’ll be the underdogs with betting sites but are definitely a team to watch.
Ayr United
Scott Brown’s Ayr United side were right in title contention until they only won two out of their last nine matches. Before then though, they impressed with attractive football which led to them being the second top scorers in the league.
They’ve had third place and their play-off spot secure for a while now but their 1-0 win against Airdrie on the final day was their first win in five so they’ll be hoping that’s a turning point in their form.
The Play-Offs are high pressure ties and the last time they won a high pressure game was back in December.
They tend to go between playing three at the back or a classic 442. In the three at the back system they use their centre backs to drive forward with the ball to draw opponents out and make space in the opposition half.
With their 442, since January, they’ve played with George Oakley and Curtis Main up top and both have been a nightmare for Championship defences. Their physicality forces defenders to man mark them and opens up spaces for their other attacking players.
Oakley is the second top scorer in the league this season with 13, their other standout attacking player has been Jay Henderson who’s on loan from Ross County. The 23-year-old wide-man has 7G/10A in 35 matches this season and is their biggest creative threat.
After the loss of Anton Dowds at the beginning of the season they probably feared the worst but Oakley really stepped up in his absence.
They’re the most out-of-form side in the Play-Offs and will really need to up their performances to have any chance of making it to the Scottish Premiership.
Livingston
David Martindale’s side ended the season incredibly well but a poor run of three defeats in a row in December prevented them from winning the title. They won seven of their last nine, dropping three crucial points away at the KDM Group East End Park and losing on the final day.
They have the best defence in the Scottish Championship, only conceding 27 goals in the 36 games with Martindale, in his typical style, making them hard to break down. They do have plenty of attacking talent and were more free-scoring towards the end of the season.
They typically play in a 433, normally with a more defensive midfielder in the middle with two more attacking or box to box options on either side.
Their main danger man has been Robbie Muirhead who has also been nominated for Championship Player of the Year. The 29-year-old has 13G/6A, making him the clubs top scorer AND assister. They have quality midfielders in the likes of Stephen Kelly, Reece McAlear, Scott Pitman, Macaulay Tait and Jamie Brandon.
Their squad depth is, in my opinion, far beyond the other two sides and they are the most in-form team going into these crucial games.
No matter if it’s Ayr or Partick that win the Quarter Final Play-Off I expected Livingston to beat them and move on to play the side that finish eleventh in the Scottish Premiership. From there, it will be really interesting to see who takes the final spot in the top flight for the 25/26 season.
Who is your favourite to get through the QF and then the SF?
We've got extensive play-off coverage coming your way. Alongside Kai in Scotland, we'll also have previews and football tips from Gab Sutton in the EFL, to deliver the best play-off coverage both sides of the border.
Stay with us for the best play-off insights!
