Kilmarnock welcome Motherwell to Rugby Park on Saturday, with the home side desperate for points in their battle to stay in the Scottish Premiership.

The visitors have eased their own relegation worries in recent weeks and now look to be safe from the drop.

Match preview

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

Kilmarnock are rooted firmly to the foot of the league table, but they still have hope if they can put together a decent run of results between now and the end of the season.

A point behind 11th-placed Hamilton Academical, the Ayrshire side have lost nine of their last 10 league matches, so it is somewhat amazing that they are still within touching distance of safety.

Manager Tommy Wright has issued a rallying cry to his players in the press this week, urging them to find more cutting edge in attack.

Wright is yet to record a win as Killie boss since his appointment in early February as a replacement for Alex Dyer.

He signed former Rangers striker Kyle Lafferty as one of his first deeds in charge, and he is anticipating that the Ulsterman can help fire Killie to safety after the league splits.

Motherwell were the opponents for Wright's first game in charge of the club, and although Killie lost 1-0 they were the better side for much of that encounter.

Wright's side dominated possession for much of that game but could not score - a pretty neat summation of the team's current problems.

Motherwell boss Graham Alexander has overseen an improvement in fortunes for the Steelmen since he took over from Stephen Robinson in early January.

'Well have kept a clean sheet in their last three away matches in the league, a sign that former Scotland defender Alexander has tightened things up considerably.

The Steelmen have also kept a clean sheet against Killie in their last three trips to Rugby Park in all competitions, so Kyle Lafferty and his teammates will need to find some sharpness from somewhere on Saturday.

Alexander's team are unbeaten in their last three games, having drawn 0-0 at St Mirren, won 2-0 at Hibernian, and beaten Livingston 3-1 at Fir Park last week.

Goalkeeper Liam Kelly, currently on loan from Queens Park Rangers, has impressed many with his recent performances and was named the club's Player of the Month for February.

Kilmarnock Scottish Premiership form:

Motherwell Scottish Premiership form:

Team News

Tommy Wright has only one major injury doubt for this weekend's game, with Greg Kiltie unlikely to play.

Wright expects the winger to be fit for the five league games that will follow the split, though.

Ross Millen is suspended after receiving two yellow cards in the defeat to Ross County.

Motherwell's injury list is still a long one, with goalkeepers Scott Fox and Trevor Carson both out for the season.

Bevis Mugabi's shoulder injury keeps him out, while Sherwin Seedorf continues his recovery from a knee problem.

Charles Dunne's ongoing absence due to a knee injury is set to continue.

Kilmarnock possible starting lineup:
Doyle; McGowan, Broadfoot, Medley, Haunstrup; McKenzie, Power, Dicker, Pinnock; Burke, Lafferty

Motherwell possible starting lineup:
Kelly; O'Donnell, Magloire, Lamie, Carroll; Campbell, Crawford, Maguire; Roberts, Cole, Watt

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We say: Kilmarnock 0-1 Motherwell

Kilmarnock's lack of cutting edge in front of goal means that Motherwell's resilient defence should be able to keep a clean sheet this weekend.

That might well be enough to secure them a narrow victory, with a 1-0 scoreline looking likely.

Top tip

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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 38.23%. A win for Kilmarnock had a probability of 33.8% and a draw had a probability of 28%.

The most likely scoreline for a Motherwell win was 0-1 with a probability of 11.63%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.02%) and 0-2 (7.1%). The likeliest Kilmarnock win was 1-0 (10.77%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.14%). The actual scoreline of 4-1 was predicted with a 0.8% likelihood.