Aiming to bounce back from defeat last time out, sixth-placed Motherwell will host fifth-placed St Mirren at Fir Park on Saturday in the Scottish Premiership.
The hosts have won two, drawn one and lost two to accumulate seven points from five outings, while the visitors have won two, drawn two and lost two in six league fixtures.
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
Motherwell have enjoyed a largely positive start to the 2024-25 season, winning seven of their opening 11 fixtures across all competitions.
They began their campaign with three wins from four Scottish League Cup group games, narrowly finishing in first place with nine points, one more than second-placed Partick Thistle, and have since defeated both Kilmarnock and Dundee United to advance into the semi-finals of the competition.
Stuart Kettlewell's side has had a similarly mixed start to their Scottish Premiership campaign, drawing and losing their first two matches before securing back-to-back victories and then losing in their most recent league game.
Kettlewell, who has been in charge since February 2023, is unlikely to be concerned with his men already suffering two losses in five games, though, with the defeats coming to Rangers and Aberdeen, who sit third and second in the league respectively.
Motherwell will be aiming to return to winning ways against St Mirren on Saturday, especially since the opposition are likely to be a competitor for a top-six finish at the end of the term, something the Steelmen have not achieved since the 2021-22 season.
The visitors are expected to present a tough challenge for the hosts, as St Mirren have had a largely similar start to the season as their upcoming opponents.
After six fixtures, one more than Motherwell, they sit fifth in the Scottish Premiership with eight points, from two wins, two draws and two losses.
Stephen Robinson's side started their campaign with two wins and two draws in their league and Europa Conference League qualifying matches but then faced a disappointing stretch of four consecutive losses, ultimately leading to their failure to qualify for Europe.
Those losses coincided with a seven-game winless streak, but they managed to break that unwanted run with a narrow 2-1 victory against Hearts in their most recent match.
Robinson will be hoping his men can record back-to-back wins in the Scottish Premiership for the first time since February when they face Motherwell, a side they have triumphed over in two of their last four meetings.
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Team News
![Stephen Robinson of St Mirren during the UEFA Europa Conference League Second Qualifying Round Second Leg match at the SMISA Stadium, Paisley, on August 1, 2024 [on August 2, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/31/stephen-robinson.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Stephen Robinson of St Mirren during the UEFA Europa Conference League Second Qualifying Round Second Leg match at the SMISA Stadium, Paisley, on August 1, 2024 [on August 2, 2024]")
© Imago
Motherwell are facing a selection crisis as up to six players are potentially unavailable for Saturday's game due to injury issues.
Callum Slattery, Harry Paton, Johnny Koutroumbis and Sam Nicholson are all ruled out, while Filip Stuparevic and Shane Blaney are both doubts.
Elsewhere, Kettlewell could decide to name the same team that recorded a brilliant 2-1 victory against Dundee United to make it to the Scottish League Cup semi-finals last time out.
As for St Mirren, they will be without Alex Iacovitti, Conor McMenamin and Greg Kiltie due to injury issues that will keep them out for a number of weeks.
Having recorded their first win in seven outings last time out, Robinson is likely to field a similar team for their match against Motherwell, with goalscorer Toyosi Olusanya starting in attack alongside Mikael Mandron.
Motherwell possible starting lineup:
Oxborough; McGinn, Gordon, Casey; O'Donnell, Zdravkovski, Halliday, Wilson; Miller, Robinson, Maswanhise
St Mirren possible starting lineup:
Balcombe; Fraser, Gogic, Taylor; Rooney, Phillips, Boyd-Munce, O'Hara, Brown; Olusanya, Mandron
We say: Motherwell 1-1 St Mirren
These two sides have had extremely comparable beginnings to the 2024-25 season and appear evenly-matched heading into this game, suggesting this one will end all square.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
