ATHLETIC bring the curtain down on their Championship campaign this evening as they travel to face Ayr United.
James McPake's side got the point they needed on Saturday, at home to Inverness Caledonian Thistle, to make certain they will be playing second tier football next season.
The Honest Men, under the charge of Scott Brown, are also assured of their place in the Championship, leaving both clubs playing for final league position.
Here's a look ahead to the match with our preview.
Form guide
A third successive home draw at KDM Group East End Park against Inverness was enough to ensure Dunfermline's place in the division for next season.
After Airdrieonians had clinched fourth place - and the final spot in the Premiership play-off matches - the Pars still required a point to be sure of avoiding ninth place, and a relegation play-off.
They have a five-point gap to Inverness, who sit second bottom going into the final round of fixtures, and only Queen's Park, who are one place and one point above, can finish below them.
Although Dunfermline are winless in their last four outings, they have lost just once in their last seven, at Airdrieonians last month, winning three and drawing three.
Meanwhile, former Dalgety Bay and Hill of Beath Primary School pupil Brown, who is assisted by former Pars player and coach, Steven Whittaker, replaced ex-Athletic hero, Lee Bullen, as boss at Somerset Park in January.
His team have won two and drawn two of their last seven matches, but are unbeaten in their last three home games.
Ayr have picked up 21 of their 43 points on their own patch, winning six and drawing three games, whilst the Pars have collected 24 points - six wins and six draws - of their tally on the road.
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Dunfermline go into the game sixth on 44 points, one place above Ayr, and one position, and one point, behind Greenock Morton, who visit Inverness.
Recent meetings
There's been little to choose between the teams when it comes to meetings between them this season.
They each have a win apiece, with a draw in their last encounter at Somerset Park sandwiched in between.
The Honest Men, with previous boss Bullen in charge, produced a dominant display at KDM Group East End Park in October to take three points back to Ayrshire.
Logan Chalmers' early goal was enough to secure a well-deserved victory which, when the teams met again in late December, Dunfermline looked to be cancelling out.
Alex Jakubiak's double - to date, his only goals for Athletic - put them two goals up inside the opening nine minutes, but Aiden McGeady and Frankie Musonda netted for Ayr as the spoils were shared.
In March, though, the Pars did secure a win over the Honest Men by a 2-0 margin, thanks to goals from Chris Hamilton and Chris Kane.
The Pars have lost just one of their last seven visit to Somerset - a 3-1 defeat in September 2021 - winning two and drawing four.
According to Soccerbase, Dunfermline hold the advantage in overall meetings in both the league and all competitions.
In league matches, they have won 51 clashes to Ayr's 33, with 30 games being drawn, whilst in all competitions, the Pars have 59 wins to Ayr's 40, whilst there have been 36 draws.
Team news
James McPake will be without Ewan Otoo, who has missed Dunfermline's last two games with a knee injury.
However, the 21-year-old received news this week that the problem will not require surgery.
"Ewan got good news from the surgeon in Glasgow," McPake told the media yesterday (Thursday).
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"There's no surgery required; he just needs to manage the knee. He should be back for the first day of pre-season.
"Aaron Comrie's back on the pitch. It probably came a week too early for Aaron or he'd have been involved. I think he's a bit disappointed but it's great for us that we'll have Aaron for the first day of pre-season.
"Wighty (Craig Wighton) will be involved tomorrow. To be fair, he's trained brilliantly. He's probably coming back wishing that the season had another few weeks to go because he's built himself up."
From the dugout
James McPake: "We want to go down, we want a good performance. The one thing I would like to get out of it is no injuries, but you're never guaranteed with that.
"Over the course of the season, that's been the recurring theme, far too often. In too many games and too many training sessions we're coming off and cursing another injury.
"If we get down and perform well, and pick up no injuries, I'll be happy on Friday night."
Press Sport will have live updates from the match, which kicks off at 7.45pm.
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