MOTHERWELL'S impressive league form will have their fans dreaming of another run to Hampden in the Scottish Cup but they face a tricky first hurdle against Dundee at Dens.
The Fir Park side reached the final of both domestic cups two seasons ago, losing the showpiece to Celtic each time, and will have their sights set on another run.
Stephen Robinson's men have punched above their weight in the Premiership so far this term, sitting in third place going into the winter break after putting the likes of Aberdeen, Kilmarnock and Hibs in the shade.
Team spirit allied to a bit of quality has been the secret of their success and both qualities will be needed to avoid a slip-up on Tayside.
Dundee have struggled since relegation to the Championship and will need to rely on the play-offs for promotion back to the top flight after falling 23 points behind city rivals United.
But they still have some decent players in their ranks and can cause an upset here if the Steelmen are a bit rusty after the three-week Premiership break.
I tipped the Dark Blues to lose in the Dundee derby last month but they battled out a deserved 1-1 draw to show they can still deliver in big games.
How the bookies view it
Dundee are as big as 7/2 with William Hill for a win and that could attract a few punters but I'm more inclined to go with the draw at 3/1 with Betway.
Motherwell are a best 4/5 with 888Sport but their odds increase to 24/13 with Sportingbet if you back them to be winning at half-time and full-time.
Recent head to head
Motherwell have bossed this fixture in the last few years, going nine games undefeated against the Dark Blues. They won all four Premiership encounters last term and have triumphed on their last five visits to Dens Park.
Their last showdown was a 4-3 thriller at Fir Park, with David Turnbull scoring a last-gasp winner for 10-man Motherwell (below).
Players to watch
Youngster James Scott scored in that 4-3 win last season and has impressed again for Well this term, although he remains a bit inconsistent. He has six to his name all season and looks decent value at 23/10 with Paddy Power in the anytime scorer market.
It looked like Graham Dorrans might leave Dundee after he held talks with MK Dons but the former Scotland star is still at Dens and could relish the big stage here.
The midfielder scored a stunning leveller in last month's derby and catches the eye at 17/2 with Paddy Power for another goal here.
Anything else catch the eye?
Dundee have only kept clean sheets in two of their last 12 games while only Celtic and Rangers have stopped Motherwell from scoring in the same run of matches.
So both teams to score appeals at 8/11 with Betway while over 2.5 strikes should also come up at 4/5 with Marathonbet. Bet365 are offering 13/8 on Motherwell netting in both halves which also could be worth a flutter.
This Scottish Cup match between Dundee and Motherwell will be played on Jan 18, 2020 and kick off at 19:20. Check below for our tipsters best Dundee vs Motherwell prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
