HEARTS came within a whisker of completing a famous comeback against Celtic in midweek and will now be hoping to take that momentum into this important SPFL Premiership clash with Motherwell.
The Jambos were outclassed for the first hour against the Hoops at Tynecastle and trailed 2-0 but a strike from Liam Boyce gave them a massive shot in the arm.
The same player then had the chance to level from the spot but saw his penalty come back off the inside of a post on a night when both my tips came up and our man Mark came within a whisker of a full house.
A pumped-up Gorgie crowd really energised the Heart of Midlothian players and home advantage could give them the edge against Motherwell here.
With the third-placed Jambos seven points ahead of the Steelmen in fourth, this is an important game in the race for European slots.
Motherwell's form has been poor since returning from the winter break, losing against 10-man Ross County then needing extra-time to edge out Championship strugglers Morton in the Scottish Cup.
But they showed plenty of character against Hibernian on Wednesday night, seeing out a 0-0 draw after a second-half red card for Liam Donnelly.
Backing goals backfired for me that night but Graham Alexander has enough firepower in his squad to punish Hearts if the Jambos take their eye off the ball.
How the bookies view it
Hearts have been strong at home all season and that's why they're odds-on favourites here at a best 8/11 with Betway. Motherwell are as big as 9/2 at Betfair while the draw pays 37/13 with SBK.
Recent head to head
There hasn't been much between these teams in recent years, with the last 10 games producing five Hearts victories, four Motherwell wins and just the one draw. This is the third meeting this term and the Steelmen won 2-0 at home last time out to avenge a defeat by the same score at Tynecastle (below).
Players to watch
Ellis Simms made an impressive Hearts debut off the bench in midweek and could be unleashed from the start here. The Everton loanee has pace to burn and is 5/2 at Paddy Power for anytime scorer.
I tipped Kevin van Veen to score against Hibs in midweek only for the Motherwell striker to let me down. Celtic loanee Liam Shaw could start after coming off the bench in midweek. The former Sheffield Wednesday kid is 14/1 at McBookie for anytime scorer and that might be worth a tentative punt.
Anything else catch the eye?
Motherwell have struggled for goals since letting top scorer Tony Watt join Dundee United and they have drawn blanks inside 90 minutes in their last two games. So I'm going to bet against BTTS at 16/19 with SBK as that has also failed to land in the last two meetings.
Hearts won lots of corners late on against Celtic on Wednesday so they could be worth backing in the corner handicap here. Backing the Jambos at -2 pays 10/11 with Bet365 while over 10/5 match corners is the same price.
Beni Baningime's return was another plus point for Neilson in midweek. The midfielder should start here and is usually decent value for a card. Baningime is 10/3 with Bet365 to pick up his fifth card of the campaign.
This Scottish Premiership match between Heart of Midlothian and Motherwell will be played on Jan 29, 2022 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Heart of Midlothian vs Motherwell prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
