Motherwell and Hearts face off at Fir Park on Saturday afternoon in a huge match for the final top-six place in the Scottish Premiership.
Hearts could’ve travelled to North Lanarkshire on Saturday having already sealed their top-six place, but they fluffed their lines, as they were beaten 0-1 at home to Dundee United last Sunday.
Whilst that’s two defeats on the bounce and three from their past four Premiership matches, The Jambos had won six of their last eight prior to that (W6-D1-L1) and require a win to seal their top-six place.
In fact, over their previous 12 Premiership matches, Neil Critchley’s side have only lost to four of the top five and drawn with fourth-placed Aberdeen.
Like their visitors, Motherwell comes into this clash off the back of consecutive defeats, as they followed up their 4-1 thrashing at Pittodrie by being beaten 2-0 at Kilmarnock.
The Steelmen will be glad to be back in front of their supporters, as they have lost just two of their last eight at Fir Park (W3-D2-L2), and know they need to win and hope St Mirren fail to win at home to Ross County to sneak into the final top-six spot.
How the bookies view it: Jam Tarts favourites
Despite losing three of their past four Premiership matches, BoyleSports have installed Hearts as 4/5 favourites.
The same firm have priced up a home success at a big 3/1, whilst the draw is 12/5.
Head to head: Home is where the heart is
Hearts were victorious when the sides last met at the turn of the year, with the capital club winning 1-0 at Tynecastle.
However, Motherwell came out on top when they last faced off at Fir Park, winning 3-1, back at the end of August.
Players to watch: Slattery to strike again?
Motherwell midfielder Callum Slattery has scored three goals in his last three appearances, including a brace in their 2-2 draw with St Mirren in their previous home match.
January signing Elton Kabangu has made an immediate impact since signing on loan from Union Saint-Gilloise, with the Belgian bagging eight goals for the Edinburgh club.
Predicted line-ups:
Motherwell will be missing the injured Ross Callachan, Zach Robinson, Steve Seddon and Filip Stuparevic, whilst Kofi Balmer will be suspended following his red card at Kilmarnock last weekend.
Hearts will once again be without defenders Craig Halkett, Frankie Kent and Stephen Kingsley, whilst 18-year-old James Wilson will be suspended following his red card against Dundee United last weekend.
Motherwell: Balcombe, O'Donnell, Koutrombis, Casey, Sparrow, Paton, Halliday, Maswanhise, Slattery, Miller, Armstrong
Hearts: Gordon,Forrester, Steinwender, McCart, Penrice, Baningime, Devlin, Spittal, Grant, Shankland, Kabangu
Anything else catch the eye?
I successfully backed goals in Motherwell’s last home match with St Mirren – and given what’s at stake for both clubs – I’m more than happy to back goals once again.
Motherwell’s opening 32 Premiership matches this season have averaged 2.91 goals per game, with Over 2.5 Goals paying out in an impressive 23 (72%) of them, including in eight of their last 10.
Those numbers rise when playing at home, with their previous 14 Premiership contests at Fir Park averaging 3.29 goals per game, with Over 2.5 Goals landing in 10 (79%) of them – including a 3-1 win over The Jambos back in August.
What’s more, Hearts’s last nine Premiership contests have been high-scoring, averaging an eye-catching 3.44 goals per game, with Over 2.5 Goals landing in seven (78%) of them.
This Scottish Premiership match between Motherwell and Hearts will be played on and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Motherwell vs Hearts prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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