Twente v Motherwell
Twente

Twente vs Motherwell

, KO: 18:00 , Sportpark De Kruudnhof
Motherwell

Motherwell are starting afresh under Jens Berthel Askou and fans will be looking for clues about the new manager's philosophy when he takes charge for the first time in this friendly with Twente.

The Steelmen changed gaffers in February when Stuart Kettlewell was replaced by Michael Wimmer but the German surprisingly stood down at the end of the season for family reasons.

Instead of returning to a tried-and-tested gaffer with SPFL experience, the Fir Park club went for a similar candidate to Wimmer as they plumped for FC Copenhagen assistant manager Askou.

The Dane has experience as a frontline boss too, most notably at Gothenburg, and it will be interesting to see how Motherwell fare in the new season.

They have headed to the Netherlands for a summer training camp and the Dutch top flight starts a week later than the SPFL Premiership, so Twente are unlikely to be firing on all cylinders.

But Joseph Oosting's side finished sixth last season and also ruffled a few feathers in the Europa League, with the likes of Manchester United, Olympiakos, Fenerbahce, Nice and Beskitas all unable to beat them.

Even though Twente will be undercooked, this is still a tricky first game for Askou as he looks to get off to a positive start with Motherwell.

How the bookies view it: Twente to stroll it

The bookies don't fancy Motherwell's chances in this one, with a debut win for Askou priced at 13/2 by Bet365. Twente are 3/10 hot favourites and the draw pays 15/4.

Head to head: Daggers drawn

These sides faced off in a friendly last summer too and it was honours even as they battled out a 2-2 draw, with the Steelmen twice taking the lead.

Players to watch: Last hurrah for Miller?

Despite being linked with a host of clubs across Europe this summer, Lennon Miller remains a Motherwell player. He scored a brilliant free-kick in that draw with Twente a year ago and will be out to catch the eye of Dutch scouts. The midfielder is always a goal threat, although I've yet to see any prices for player markets.

There's a familiar, and incredibly long, name in the Twente ranks for Scottish football fans in the shape of Lucas Vennegoor of Hesselink. Son of former Celtic star Jan, the 19-year-old striker could get a run-out in this friendly and will be out to make an impact.

Probable line-ups

Zach Robinson missed the second half of last season with a bad injury for Motherwell and is unlikely to play but Paul McGinn, Sam Nicholson and Apostolos Stamatelopoulos are fit again. New signings Elliot Watt, Jordan McGhee and Lukas Fadinger could get their first run-outs.

Twente's star man Sam Steijn has been sold to Feyenoord while former Rangers striker Sam Lammers is set to miss out with a dislocated shoulder. New boys Stav Lemkin and Thomas van den Belt could make their entrance.

Twente: Tyton, Kuipers, Bruns, Lemkin, van Rooij, van den Belt, Kuster, Taha, Booth, Unuvar, Vennegoor of Hesselink.

Motherwell: Oxborough, O'Donnell, Gordon, McGhee, McGinn, Slattery, Halliday, Watt, Miller, Maswanhise, Stuparevic.

Anything else catch the eye?

Twente are clearly a better team than Motherwell but this friendly comes very early in their preparations for the new campaign and Motherwell should be a bit fitter and sharper. That was evident last season in that 2-2 draw and going for goals at both ends looks a good option based on that match.

BTTS is just 8/11 at Betfred so there's not much value in that but Bet365 are offering 11/10 on Motherwell in the first-half double chance market. That could be worth a punt as the Dutch side blow off the cobwebs.

Given these sides shared four goals last summer, there could also be some value in backing over 3.5 goals at 11/10 with Paddy Power.

Twente vs Motherwell Betting Tips & Predictions
Motherwell first-half double chance
11/10
Bet365
Both teams to score
8/11
Betfred
Over 3.5 goals
11/10
PaddyPower
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