HIBERNIAN will look to move off the foot of the Scottish Premiership table as they travel to Fir Park to take on fifth-placed Motherwell on Saturday afternoon in what should be an entertaining encounter.
Hibs were in action in midweek in what was an enthralling encounter at Easter Road against second-placed Aberdeen, with the capital club equalising in both the 92nd and remarkably again in the 96th minute to rescue a point in a six-goal thriller to probably just about keep manager David Gray in a job.
The club legend has seen his side win just one of their opening 14 Premiership fixtures this season (W1-D6-L7), with just two of those points coming on their travels (W0-D2-L4).
Motherwell impressively began the season, picking up 13 points from their opening seven Premiership matches (W4-D1-L2), with both losses coming in 2-1 defeats away at Aberdeen and Rangers.
Stuart Kettlewell’s men did go on to lose back-to-back matches at home to Dundee and Celtic, but consecutive 2-1 wins away at Dundee United and home to St Johnstone have propelled The Steelmen into fifth position.
However, The Steelmen made the long trip north to Dingwall last weekend and suffered a 2-1 defeat against Ross County on an afternoon where both of my selections landed.
How the bookies view it: Tough one to call in North Lanarkshire
Despite sitting bottom of the pile, Hibs are priced up at 13/10 favourites at Kwiff to claim their first away win of the season.
The Steelmen are 31/20 to collect all three points at home, whilst a draw is 39/20
Head to head: The Well done well in this fixture in recent times
Motherwell have lost just one of their previous six meetings with The Hibees, winning three of them (W3-D2-L1), including a 1-2 victory at Easter Road in October.
Players to watch: Cadden to continue to bag?
Nicky Cadden has been a shining light for Hibs in recent weeks, with the Ex-Barnsley man striking in each of his past three appearances for the Leith club.
Motherwell’s Zimbabwean striker Tawanda Maswanhise has scored three goals in his last three Premiership appearances for Motherwell and will be hoping he comes back into the starting 11 on Saturday.
Probable line-ups
The Steelmen have a whole host of injuries, with the likes of Paul McGinn, Ross Callachan, Callum Slattery, Sam Nicholson and Jack Vale all sidelined.
David Gray will have a decision to make in goals, with neither Jordan Smith nor number one Josef Bursik being particularly convincing in recent weeks.
Motherwell: Oxborough, Casey, Balmer, Seddon, Kaleta, Sparrow, Miller, Halliday, Wilson, Stamatelopolous, Maswanhise
Hibernian: Bursik, Miller, Bushiri, O’hora, Iredale, Cadden, Newell, Triantis, Youan, Hoilett, Kukharevych
Anything else catch the eye?”
Goals have been a feature of Motherwell’s matches in the Scottish top flight this season, with their opening 12 matches in the Premiership averaging 2.67 goals per game, with Over 2.5 Goals banking in nine of their past 10.
There have been an incredible 14 goals scored in each of Hibernian’s past three Scottish Premiership encounters – with Over 2.5 Goals landing on each occasion – so goals look the best way to go here.
A peculiar trend that I’ve noticed in Motherwell’s fixtures this season is the amount of 2-1 scorelines, with 8/12 (67%) of their Premiership contests finishing that way – including in the pair’s last meeting at Easter Road in October – and I’m happy to have some small change on both sides to win this game 2-1.
This Scottish Premiership match between Motherwell and Hibernian will be played on Nov 30, 2024 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Motherwell vs Hibernian prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
