Sports Mole previews Wednesday's Scottish Premiership clash between Motherwell and Dundee United, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Motherwell host Dundee United in the Scottish Premiership on Wednesday, hoping to build on last weekend's victory against Ross County.

Meanwhile, the Tangerines are enduring a poor run of form since the turn of the year, failing to win in 2021 and conceding nine goals in their last four matches.

Match preview

Graham Alexander, now in charge of Motherwell, pictured in September 2020 © Reuters

Graham Alexander claimed his first win as Motherwell boss after his side came from behind to seal a 2-1 victory away at Ross County last week.

The Staggies broke the deadlock after 14 minutes through Oli Shaw, however second-half strikes from Devante Cole and Bevis Mugabi turned the game on its head, securing the Steelmen their first win in 14 matches in all competitions.

Motherwell remain in a precarious position, one place above the relegation playoff spot, currently occupied by last week's opponents Ross County.

The Steelmen are winless in their last six home league games, the longest ongoing run of all sides in this season's Scottish Premiership. They also lost their last home encounter with Dundee United, which saw the Tangerines seal a narrow 1-0 win back in August.

With a match away at Celtic on the horizon, Alexander will hope to head into that fixture off the back of two positive results and a win on Wednesday would see the Steelmen record successive league wins for the first time since October.

Dundee United boss Micky Mellon pictured on August 22, 2020 © Reuters

Dundee United will want to quickly move on from last week's misery as a 5-1 thrashing at home to St Mirren was followed by a 2-0 loss to Hibernian on Saturday.

Micky Mellon's side have now failed to win any of their last seven games and as a result have slipped to seventh in the table.

Fears of the drop may start to creep in if their poor run of form continues, however there is an eight-point gap between themselves and 11th-placed Ross County and a few positive results could change their outlook on the season going forward and ease any relegation worries.

One of Dundee United's main concerns is their away form, having won only two of their 12 matches on the road this season, the fewest of any side in the division. They have also found it difficult to score on their travels, finding the net just five times, again the lowest total in the top flight this campaign.

The Tangerines head into their fixture with Motherwell having won six of their last eight Scottish Premiership visits to Fir Park.

Mellon's men have already picked up four points from their two matches against the Steelmen this campaign and a win on Wednesday could move them up one place to sixth in the table, nine points clear of Motherwell.

Motherwell Scottish Premiership form: LLDDLW

Dundee United Scottish Premiership form: LDDDLL

Team News

Declan Gallagher in action for Motherwell on November 10, 2019 © Reuters

Motherwell left-back Liam Grimshaw and midfielder Mark O'Hara remain sidelined due to illness, while Liam Polworth is back from suspension and is in contention to start Wednesday's match.

As goalkeepers Scott Fox and Trevor Carson continue to recover from their long-term injuries, Liam Kelly is set to remain as Graham Alexander's number one.

Dundee United midfielder Logan Chalmers is nearing a return from an ankle injury but is not expected to return this week, while defender Declan Glass is likely to be out for the rest of the season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

American midfielder Ian Harkes could return to the starting lineup at the expense of either Calum Butcher or Jeando Fuchs.

Motherwell possible starting lineup:
Kelly; O'Donnell, Mugabi, Gallagher, Carroll; Campbell, Crawford, Maguire; Long, Cole, Watt

Dundee United possible starting lineup:
Siegrist; Smith, Connolly, Reynolds, Robson; Bolton, Butcher, Harkes, McNulty; Clark, Shankland

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We say: Motherwell 1-1 Dundee United

Both sides have struggled to win games this campaign, winning just 11 league matches combined so far. Motherwell will have confidence heading into Wednesday's clash having won last weekend, but they face a Dundee United outfit who they have failed to beat in two attempts already this season. There is not much to separate the two sides and so a draw could be on the cards.

Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Dundee United win with a probability of 38.28%. A win for Motherwell had a probability of 33.6% and a draw had a probability of 28.1%.

The most likely scoreline for a Dundee United win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.8%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (7.99%) and 0-2 (7.15%). The likeliest Motherwell win was 1-0 (10.87%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.18%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 7.4% likelihood.