The Glasgow side currently sit in the final play-off place – on 52 points – and a victory over Livingston would seal the deal.
A Thistle defeat, though, would leave the door ajar for Raith Rovers – currently on 50 points – to leapfrog them into a Premiership play-off quarter-final against third-top Ayr United.
Barry Robson’s side are away to Queen’s Park, who are third bottom but safe from relegation.
A draw for Thistle should also be enough for the Glasgow side given they have a goal difference of +4 compared to Rovers’ zero.
Clearly, though, this margin is not altogether insurmountable. If the Kirkcaldy side can whip themselves into a goal frenzy at the national stadium against a Queen’s Park side who are without a win in 11 matches, then it could become interesting.
If Thistle were to draw and Rovers were to win 4-0 then the Fifers would finish fourth.
The goal difference between the sides would be the same, so it would go down to which side had scored the most goals over the course of the season – and that would be Rovers.
In such a scenario, the only way Thistle could draw and still remain fourth is if they somehow managed to score more than Rovers on the night. For example, a wildly improbable 5-5 draw.
In the admittedly highly unlikely event that Thistle and Rovers do finish level on points, goal difference and goals scored then it would come down to the points tally in the four matches between the sides over the course of this season.
That would result in Rovers finishing fourth in the table as they have amassed eight compared to two for Partick Thistle.
We are getting into the minutiae of extreme improbabilities now, but in the notoriously unpredictable Championship, on a night of potential carnage, all bases need to be covered.
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