Motherwell are set to take on Rangers this Sunday afternoon at Hampden Park in the second of the two Scottish League Cup semi-finals, with a place in the final at stake.
The Steelmen are aiming to progress into the final for the first time since 2017, while the Gers are looking to retain the trophy after triumphing last campaign.
Match preview
Having placed in the bottom half of the table in each of the last two seasons, Motherwell have made a fantastic start to the 2024-25 season, currently sitting fourth in the Scottish Premiership after 10 outings.
Their strong form looked to have ended when they suffered back-to-back defeats to Dundee and Celtic, but they bounced back with a much-needed victory over Dundee United last time out, leaving them with boosted confidence heading into this one.
This is set to be Motherwell's first appearance in this stage of the competition since defeating Rangers 2-0 in the semifinals in 2017, with the Steelmen going on to heartbreakingly lose 2-0 in the final to Celtic.
Stuart Kettlewell's side will now be aiming to once again defeat the Gers in the semifinals and ultimately lift the Scottish League Cup trophy for the first time since 1951.
The Steelmen have already lost to Rangers this season, however, with Philippe Clement's men securing a narrow 2-1 win on matchday two of the Scottish Premiership season.
Rangers will be looking to replicate that victory on Sunday, especially with reports suggesting that the outcome of this match could decide Clement's future at the club after the manager has faced huge criticism for their shaky start to the term.
The Gers already trail the top two in the league by nine points after just 10 matches, while they have suffered five defeats in 17 matches across all competitions this season.
Clement and his side will take confidence from their dominance in this fixture in recent years, with Rangers winning seven of the last eight meetings across all competitions, losing the remaining game 2-1 in March 2024.
Rangers have also made it to the final in each of the last two seasons, falling to defeat against Celtic in February 2023 before defeating Aberdeen 1-0 in last year's final.
Team News
The hosts are facing significant injury challenges ahead of the match, with up to six players, including Callum Slattery, Harry Paton, Jack Vale, Paul McGinn, Ross Callachan, and Sam Nicholson, likely to miss out due to their injuries.
Having secured a confidence-boosting 2-1 win against Dundee Utd last time out, Kettlewell could decide to name a largely similar side for this one, with goalscorer Tawanda Maswanhise expected to keep his place in attack.
As for the visitors, Danilo, Oscar Cortes, Rabbi Matondo and Ridvan Yilmaz have all been out of action for a number of matches, and all four are unlikely to feature here.
Vaclav Cerny could also miss the match due to an injury that ruled him out of the midweek defeat to Aberdeen, and his absence could be badly felt as he has scored six goals and assisted three in 15 appearances this season.
Motherwell possible starting lineup:
Oxborough; O'Donnell, Balmer, Casey; Kaleta, Miller, Wilson, Seddon; Sparrow; Stamatelopoulos, Maswanhise
Rangers possible starting lineup:
Butland; Tavernier, Souttar, Balogun, Kasanwirjo; Barron, Raskin; McCausland, Lawrence, Bajrami; Dessers
We say: Motherwell 1-2 Rangers
The match is reportedly a must-win affair for Clement and Rangers, and given the stakes, we expect the players to be highly motivated and ready to secure the victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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