Motherwell, aiming to further solidify their place in the top six of the Scottish Premiership table, are set to take on Kilmarnock at Fir Park on Friday evening.
The hosts are fourth in the standings with 25 points after 16 outings, while the visitors are eighth in the table with 17 points from their opening 17 fixtures.
Match preview
After failing to finish in the top six of the Scottish Premiership in either of the last two seasons, placing seventh in 2022-23 and ninth in 2023-24, Motherwell have enjoyed a strong start to their campaign as they look to return to the top half.
The Steelmen place fourth in the standings after 16 matches played with 25 points, from eight wins, one draw and seven losses, leaving them seven points behind third-placed Rangers and six above seventh-placed Dundee.
Stuart Kettlewell's men enjoyed a particularly impressive opening to the 2024-25 term, losing just two of their first seven league fixtures, before enduring a disappointing run of only two wins in the following seven, suffering five losses in that time.
However, Motherwell have bounced back in the past two games, defeating St Mirren 1-0 thanks to a 94th-minute winner from Tony Watt, bringing an end to a three-game losing streak, followed by an action-packed 4-3 victory against Dundee United last time out.
Kettlewell will be hoping his side can continue that winning run as they come up against Kilmarnock on Saturday, with the hosts looking to further strengthen their place in the top six of the table.
In stark contrast to their hosts, Kilmarnock's season has been largely underwhelming, as they sit eighth in the table with 17 points from 17 matches, after four wins, five draws and eight defeats.
That is a far cry from the superb 2023-24 season that Killie achieved, which saw them climb from a 10th-placed finish in 2022-23 to an impressive fourth-placed finish last year.
Derek McInnes's men failed to win any of their opening six league matches before eventually appearing to find form with three wins in the subsequent four outings, but Killie fell back into a frustrating rut as they once again went six games without a win, losing four in that time.
They did finally end that run with a 1-0 win against Hearts in their most recent fixture, and McInnes will be hoping for another positive result here as he looks for his side to close the four-point gap on the top six.
Recent history suggests Killie may struggle for a result on Friday though, with the visitors winless in their last six visits to Fir Park, with four losses and two draws.
Team News
Callum Slattery, Jack Vale, Paul McGinn and Ross Callachan are all expected to be absent for the hosts due to ongoing injury issues, although all four should return later this month.
Having secured back-to-back wins for the first time since early October, Kettlewell may decide to field a largely unchanged starting team for this encounter.
As for Kilmarnock, Stuart Findlay is ruled out through an ankle injury that is likely to keep him out until late January, while Robby McCrorie is a doubt after coming off with an injury in their last match.
Robbie Deas is also ruled out for this match after the defender received a red card after just six minutes in their eventual 1-0 victory over Hearts, meaning Joe Wright, Lewis Mayo and Corrie Ndaba are expected to make up the back three.
Motherwell possible starting lineup:
Oxborough; Casey, Gordon, Blaney; Kaleta, Halliday, Miller, Paton, Seddon; Maswanhise; Stamatelopoulos
Kilmarnock possible starting lineup:
O'Hara; Wright, Mayo, Ndaba; Armstrong, Murray, Polworth, Wales; Lyons; Watkins, Anderson
We say: Motherwell 2-0 Kilmarnock
The hosts have returned to form with back-to-back wins heading into this one, and with the visitors failing to win in their last six visits to Fir Park, we believe Motherwell will claim another victory here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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