Preview: Motherwell vs Falkirk - prediction, team news, lineups

Motherwell will welcome Falkirk to Fir Park on Sunday afternoon for a matchday two meeting in the Scottish Premiership.

The hosts defeated Hibernian 2-1 on the opening weekend, while the visitors lost 2-0 to St Mirren in their first league fixture.

Match preview

Motherwell had a superb 2025-26 season, finishing fourth in the Scottish Premiership with 61 points from 16 wins, 13 draws and only nine defeats in 38 league games.

However, the Steelmen came into the 2026-27 campaign under new manager Alfred Johansson, following Jens Berthel Askou's departure to join Toulouse at the end of last season.

Despite initially enduring a challenging pre-season, losing to both AGF (4-0) and Genk (4-3), Johansson has overseen a superb start to the new campaign, with Motherwell unbeaten after four games in all competitions.

The Steelmen comfortably progressed past HB Torshavn with a 5-0 aggregate win in their Conference League second qualifying round tie, followed by beating Hibernian 2-1 in their first league game thanks to Ibrahim Said's 85th-minute winner.

Motherwell did fail to win for the first time this season in their last outing, drawing 1-1 with HJK Helsinki in the first leg of their Conference League third qualifying round tie, leaving the tie still to be settled in the reverse fixture at Fir Park.

Motherwell's attention will first, however, be on Sunday's clash with Falkirk, in which the Steelmen will be hoping to secure another three points to continue their flawless start to the league campaign.

Falkirk similarly enjoyed a fantastic 2025-26 season - their first back in the Scottish Premiership since 2009-10 - finishing sixth in the table after picking up 49 points in 38 games, from 14 wins, seven draws and 17 losses.

The Bairns did endure a difficult end to the term, losing four of their final five matches, and that form has seemingly continued at the beginning of 2026-27, with Falkirk winning only two of their opening five games across all competitions.

Falkirk won two, lost one and drew one - losing on penalties - of their four Scottish League Cup group games, leading to a shock elimination as Ayr United snatched top spot, followed by a 2-0 loss to St Mirren in their opening fixture of the league campaign.

John McGlynn's side dominated possession, with 58%, but created just 0.55 expected goals (xG) to St Mirren's 1.57xG, and the Falkirk boss will be hoping for a significantly stronger showing against the Steelmen.

Falkirk will draw confidence from their recent record against Motherwell, remaining unbeaten in their last six encounters with the Steelmen, including four wins in that time - three of which came during the 2025-26 season.

Motherwell Scottish Premiership form:

Motherwell form (all competitions):

Falkirk Scottish Premiership form:

Falkirk form (all competitions):

Team News

Motherwell are contending with several injury issues, including Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, Callum Hendry, Jordan McGhee, Paul McGinn and Stephen O'Donnell.

Tawanda Maswanhise, who finished as the league's top scorer last season, scored his first goal of the season in the draw with HJK Helsinki, and the striker should continue leading the line against Falkirk.

Meanwhile, Falkirk are dealing with just one injury absence, as Aidan Nesbitt continues to recover from an ankle issue, while they will be strengthened by the return from suspension of Brad Spencer.

After struggling to create chances against St Mirren in their opening game, McGlynn could look to switch up the attack against Motherwell, meaning the likes of Ethan Ross and Ben Parkinson could start.

Motherwell possible starting lineup:

Paulsen; Sparrow, Moorman, Girdwood-Reich, Longelo; Fadinger, Priestman; Vogt, Lowry, Charles-Cook; Maswanhise

Falkirk possible starting lineup:

Bain; Strain, Melniks, Henderson, Tanser; Spencer, Sibbald; Gardner, Yeats, Ross; Parkinson

We say: Motherwell 2-1 Falkirk

Motherwell have enjoyed a strong start to the new campaign, and although Falkirk have a superb recent record in this fixture, the Steelmen will be expected to continue their unbeaten start to the term and secure the three points.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.