Preview:Motherwell vs Dundee United - prediction, team news, lineups

Motherwell and Dundee United, both looking to make it back-to-back wins in the Scottish Premiership, are set to meet on Wednesday night.

The hosts sit seventh in the standings with 11 points from nine games, while the visitors are fourth in the table with 13 points from nine fixtures.

Match preview

Motherwell underwent a managerial change late last season when Stuart Kettlewell opted to depart the club, with Michael Wimmer appointed, but the German also decided to leave the club in order to take charge of SSV Jahn Regensburg in Germany.

The Steelmen made the decision to appoint Jens Berthel Askou as the new permanent boss heading into this campaign, and the new manager has produced several encouraging moments early in his tenure.

Askou has recorded eight wins, five draws and suffered only two defeats from his opening 15 games in charge, including a 12-game unbeaten run across all competitions at the start of the season.

They finally suffered defeat at the hands of Celtic on matchday seven of the Scottish Premiership season, conceding a heartbreaking 92nd-minute winner to Daizen Maeda, and that was followed by an underwhelming 2-1 loss to Falkirk.

However, the Steelmen bounced back with a dramatic 2-1 win against Livingston at the weekend, with Apostolos Stamatelopoulos equalising on the hour mark before Elijah Just scored a 93rd-minute winner for Motherwell.

That result lifted Motherwell to seventh in the standings and just a point outside the top half of the table, and they will now be aiming to build on that victory when they take on Dundee United, who they would leapfrog in the standings if they claim all three points.

The Tangerines enjoyed a stunning 2024-25 campaign, recording a superb fourth-placed finish in their first year back in the top flight, having won the Scottish Championship title in 2023-24.

As a result of their fourth-placed finish, Dundee Utd secured a place in the qualifiers for the Conference League, and while they managed to progress past UNA Strassen in the second round, the Tangerines were defeated by Rapid Vienna in the third round.

Despite their failure to qualify for European football, Jim Goodwin's men have enjoyed a positive start to the Scottish Premiership campaign, placing fourth with 13 points after nine matches, from three wins, four draws and two defeats.

Goodwin's side are also enjoying a three-game unbeaten streak heading into this encounter, including back-to-back draws and a win over St Mirren last time out, leaving them with plenty of belief.

The Tangerines will also draw confidence from their unbeaten record on the road in the Scottish Premiership, recording one win and two draws, although they have failed to win at Fir Park since April 2023, losing all of their last three visits.

Motherwell Scottish Premiership form:

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Motherwell form (all competitions):

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Dundee United Scottish Premiership form:

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Dundee United form (all competitions):

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Team News

Motherwell will be unable to call upon Eseosa Sule, Filip Stuparevic, Jordan McGhee, Sam Nicholson and Zach Robinson due to ongoing injury issues.

Tawanda Maswanhise and Stamatelopoulos are joint-top scorers in the league with four goals each, and both are expected to start in attack alongside Just and Ibrahim Said in this one.

The remainder of the side that started in the victory against Livingston should also feature from the beginning against Dundee United.

As for the Tangerines, Isaac Pappoe, Max Watters and Ross Graham are not expected to feature due to injury problems, while Luca Stephenson may be a doubt after coming off with an injury in their recent win over St Mirren.

Elsewhere, the rest of the side that played in from the start in the 3-1 victory over the Saints is likely to be named in this one, including Zac Sapsford and Nikolaj Moller in attack.

Motherwell possible starting lineup:

Ward; O'Donnell, Gordon, Welsh, Longelo; Fadinger, Watt; Maswanhise, Just, Said; Stamatelopulos

Dundee United possible starting lineup:

Kucherenko; Iovu, Esselink, Keresztes; Sevelj, Camara, Sibbald, Trapanovski, Ferry; Moller, Sapsford

We say: Motherwell 2-1 Dundee United

Motherwell and Dundee United have had similar seasons to date, but with the Steelmen winning all of the last three meetings at Fir Park, we expect the hosts to narrowly win this one.

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