Motherwell will host Dundee at Fir Park on Saturday afternoon for their eighth match of the 2024-25 Scottish Premiership season, looking to build on their strong start to the campaign.
The hosts are fourth in the league with 13 points from seven outings, while the visitors are eighth in the division with six points from their opening seven games.
Match preview
![Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell during the Premier Sports Cup Group G match at Fir Park against Partick Thistle on 28/07/2024[on August 1, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/31/stuart-kettlewell.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell during the Premier Sports Cup Group G match at Fir Park against Partick Thistle on 28/07/2024[on August 1, 2024]")
© Imago
After finishing in the bottom half of the Scottish Premiership in each of the last two seasons, Motherwell would have set their sights on a return to the top half for the first time since securing fifth place in 2021-22 ahead of this campaign.
Stuart Kettlewell's men have certainly made a strong start in their pursuit of that objective, sitting fourth in the table with 13 points, from four wins, one draw and two losses, five points above sixth-placed St Mirren.
Motherwell initially failed to win either of their first two league fixtures, drawing to Ross County and losing to Rangers, but they quickly improved with six wins in the following seven matches across all competitions.
The only defeat in that time was a narrow 2-1 defeat to unbeaten Aberdeen, but despite the loss, Kettlewell would have been encouraged by the positive performance that his side produced against that calibre of opponent.
Kettlewell will be hoping his side can maintain their good run of results with another victory against Dundee, a side they have only defeated once in the last five meetings.
As for Dundee, they enjoyed a stellar first campaign back in the top division in 2023-24 having earned their promotion as Scottish Championship champions in 2022-23.
Tony Docherty's men fantastically recorded a sixth-placed finish last campaign, their best in the top flight since also placing sixth in 2014-15, and they would have been hoping to build upon that success this term.
They enjoyed an impressive opening to 2024-25 with six wins and three draws in the first nine fixtures of the campaign, but they have followed that with four successive defeats in their subsequent outings.
Dundee's most recent defeat was especially disappointing, as the Dee let a 2-0 lead slip as they conceded three goals in the final five minutes to St Johnstone and fell to a devastating 3-2 loss.
Docherty will be hoping for a much-improved performance as Dundee aim to end their losing streak, but the visitors have failed to win away from home in the league so far this season.
Team News
© Imago
Motherwell will be without Callum Slattery, Harry Paton, Jack Vale, Ross Callachan and Sam Nicholson for this game due to injury concerns.
Elsewhere, a similar side to the one that defeated Hibernian 2-1 in their last match could feature here, with Apostolos Stamatelopoulos continuing in attack with Zach Robinson.
The visitors will be without the services of Jordan McGhee and Joe Shaughnessy due to injury issues, though both are expected to return later this month.
Mohamad Sylla is also ruled out after the midfielder was dismissed after just 43 minutes in their last outing due to an accumulation of yellow cards, meaning Sammy Braybrooke could come into the starting team.
Motherwell possible starting lineup:
Oxborough; McGinn, Gordon, Balmer; O'Donnell, Zdravkovski, Miller, Halliday, Wilson; Stamatelopoulos, Robinson
Dundee possible starting lineup:
McCracken; Portales, Robertson, Koumetio; Ingram, Cameron, Braybrooke, Tiffoney, Larkeche; Main, Murray
We say: Motherwell 2-1 Dundee
The hosts are in undeniably better form than their visitors heading into this game, winning all of their last three outings while Dundee have lost their last four, suggesting a win for the hosts.
All of Motherwell's past five matches have ended with 2-1 scorelines, four of those being victories, and we believe that pattern will continue with a 2-1 win here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
