Having both scraped into the Championship group of the Scottish Premiership table, Dundee United and Motherwell will do battle at Tannadice Park on Saturday.
With the top three already decided, Saturday's meeting in Dundee will play a major role in the battle for fourth place with the hosts just one point better off than their opponents.
Match preview
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After sitting comfortably inside the top six for large portions of the Scottish Premiership campaign, Dundee United found their place at risk in the lead up to the division's split, but they were eventually able to secure their spot in the Championship group.
Following a creditable 2-2 draw with third-placed Hearts, Tam Courts's side recorded an important 2-1 win away at St Mirren, with Marc McNulty hitting the decisive goal in the 96th minute.
The Tangerines then finished the first phase with consecutive draws against Hibernian and rivals Dundee, albeit having been pegged back after leading 2-2 in the latter, booking their spot in the Championship group as they sat fourth after 33 games.
They began the second phase with a home clash against Hearts, and, despite Dylan Levitt giving them an early lead and Ryan Edwards levelling the game at 2-2 on the hour mark, they eventually suffered a defeat as Ellis Simms hit the decisive goal to snatch all three points for the visitors in the 83rd minute.
While both sides below them in the group also lost last weekend, the Tangerines remain just a single point ahead of both Ross County and Saturday's opponents, meaning they will see a victory as vital if they are to secure a fourth-placed finish.
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Motherwell arrive looking to leapfrog their hosts, having just held onto their place in the top six.
Graham Alexander's side put themselves in a strong position with a 4-2 thrashing of St Mirren in the penultimate first-phase game, as Sean Goss, Connor Shields and Dean Cornelius got on the scoresheet alongside a Richard Tait own goal, before they took on Livingston on the final day in a decisive meeting for the two groups.
The Well went two goals behind in the second half and looked set to be condemned to the relegation group, but Odin Bailey pulled one back in the 73rd minute before Ricki Lamie drew his side level in injury time, keeping them above Livingston as a result.
Alexander's men then faced a tough opening to the second phase, as they hosted title-chasing Rangers last weekend, and, despite the visitors being reduced to 10 men on the half-hour mark, Motherwell came away empty-handed after a 3-1 defeat.
However, Saturday presents the chance to leapfrog Dundee United and gain an edge in the race for fourth if they can leave with all three points, and the Well will be aiming to return to winning ways as a result.
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Team News
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Dundee United have several injury issues to contend with, as key midfielders Peter Pawlett and Ian Harkes are sidelined alongside Maxime Biamou and Tim Akinola.
Nicky Clark should continue to lead the line, while Marc McNulty will challenge Tony Watt to for a place in the starting XI.
Dylan Levitt has been a key man in midfield since his loan move from Manchester United, and he will again feature in the engine room in Courts' preferred 3-5-2 system.
Motherwell will remain without impressive young midfielder Barry Maguire due to an injury, while key striker and top scorer Kevin van Veen will serve the second game of a suspension after accumulating 10 yellow cards in the Scottish Premiership.
Connor Shields and Joe Efford led the line in his absence last time out, while Ross Tierney will continue to support the attack after his goal against Rangers.
Dundee United possible starting lineup:
Siegrist; Edwards, Mulgrew, Graham; Niskanen, Levitt, Smith, Mochrie, McMann; Watt, Clark
Motherwell possible starting lineup:
Kelly; Mugabi, Ojala, Lamie, Carroll; Cornelius, Goss, Slattery; Tierney; Shields, Efford
We say: Dundee United 1-1 Motherwell
The league records show these two sides are evenly matched, and we predict a share of the spoils on Saturday.
Both looking to bounce back from defeats, they should cause one another problems but may be somewhat reserved given the stakes in the race for fourth spot.
Top tip
Sam Varley
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 36.55%. A win for Dundee United had a probability of 36.54% and a draw had a probability of 26.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Motherwell win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.16%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.04%) and 0-2 (6.39%). The likeliest Dundee United win was 1-0 (10.16%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.78%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 10.2% likelihood.
