Motherwell welcome Kilmarnock to Fir Park in the Scottish Premiership on Wednesday evenin, with both sides currently enduring difficult runs of form.
The Steelmen have failed to win any of their last eight matches in all competitions, while Killie suffered their fifth league defeat in a row at home to Livingston on Boxing Day.
Match preview
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Motherwell were moments away from securing their first win in seven league matches before a 93rd-minute strike from Dundee United's Nicky Clark earned the home side a point on Boxing Day.
The result came shortly after the Scottish FA announced that they were to take six points away from the Steelmen following appeals from Kilmarnock and St Mirren, who had breached coronavirus regulations, which resulted in their matches being postponed.
Manager Steve Robinson has questioned the timing of the announcement just hours before their trip to Tannadice but insists that his side are "willing to play the games" required when they have been scheduled.
Following the removal of six points and a dip in form which has seen the Steelmen pick up just three points from a possible 21 available, Robinson has seen his side slip to seventh in the table, six points above the relegation zone.
A win for Motherwell, who have won both of their last two league meetings with Kilmarnock, could see them climb to fifth in the Scottish Premiership if both Dundee United and Livingston fail to win their matches on Wednesday.
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Kilmarnock boss Alex Dyer insists that he has not lost the dressing room and he still has the backing of his players following a 2-1 defeat against Livingston last weekend.
Chris Burke broke the deadlock three minutes after the break when he converted from the penalty spot, but Jay Emmanuel-Thomas's strike was followed by a 92nd-minute winner from Scott Robinson which gave the Lions all three points.
Kilmarnock's poor run of form has seen them slip to ninth in the Scottish Premiership, just four points clear of Ross County at the foot of the table.
The East Ayrshire outfit have won two of their last three league visits to Motherwell, which is as many as in their previous 12 trips to Fir Park.
Kilmarnock, who have lost eight of their last nine league matches, would remain in ninth place if they were to win on Wednesday night, one point behind St Mirren in eighth.
Motherwell Scottish Premiership form: DLLLDD
Motherwell form (all competitions): LLLLDD
Kilmarnock Scottish Premiership form: WLLLLL
Kilmarnock form (all competitions): WLLLLL
Team News
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Motherwell defenders Charles Dunne (groin) and Liam Donnelly (knee) are both out with injuries, while forward Chris Long remains a doubt with a knock.
Goalkeeper's Trevor Carson and Aaron Chapman returned to the squad for the match with Dundee United with the former starting the match. Carson is expected to remain as the number one with Chapman on the bench.
Kilmarnock's Gary Dicker (knock) and Zeno Rossi (knee) are close to full recovery but are not expected to feature before the new year.
Right-back Ross Millen, who has been unavailable since early November, also remains out with a knee injury.
Alex Dyer may decide to make a few changes to a side struggling for form, which could see Greg Kiltie come back into the side and replace Rory McKenzie on the left-wing.
Motherwell possible starting lineup:
Carson; O'Donnell, O'Hara, Mugabi, Gallagher, Grimshaw; Polworth, Crawford, Campbell; Lang, Watt
Kilmarnock possible starting lineup:
Rogers; McGowan, Broadfoot, Findlay, Waters; Power, Mulumbu, Tshibola; Burke, Kabamba, Kiltie
We say: Motherwell 0-0 Kilmarnock
Both sides are keen to end their poor runs of form and secure three points on Wednesday, but with the two teams struggling to convert chances in the final third, we could see a stalemate at Fir Park.
Top betting tip
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 Motherwell win with a probability of 41.96%. A win for Kilmarnock had a probability of 30.61% and a draw had a probability of 27.4%.
The most likely scoreline for a Motherwell win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.95%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.52%) and 2-0 (7.87%). The likeliest Kilmarnock win was 0-1 (9.83%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.94%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with a 5.3% likelihood.
