Motherwell and Hamilton Academical square off on Saturday afternoon with both clubs still looking for their first victory in the Scottish Premiership this season.
While the home side have two draws to their name, Hamilton have netted just one goal during their three successive defeats.
Match preview
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After last season's third-placed finish, Stephen Robinson will be frustrated that his Motherwell side have failed to prevail in any of their opening four fixtures.
However, on the back of a goalless draw at Hibernian, a result which ended the 100% record of their opponents, Robinson will be optimistic that an improved run is just around the corner.
With only Rangers and Hibs in double figures, there is a window of opportunity to quickly close the gap on teams whom they will perceive to be their rivals for a top-four position come the end of the season.
Nevertheless, they will not make progress up the standings unless they can improve their current ratio in front of goal, which stands at two goals in four outings.
While none of their forwards has found the back of the net, Robinson will at least be grateful to have Wigan Athletic loanee Callum Lang as an option again after a spell out through suspension.
Of the clubs who have played three or more matches, only Hamilton have a worse record in the final third than their hosts on Saturday afternoon.
That solitary goal came via a Celtic player during the 5-1 defeat at Glasgow, a result which has been followed by further setbacks against Ross County and St Mirren respectively.
Despite improvements made at the back leading to just two goals being conceded in as many games, manager Brian Rice will be concerned about his team's output at the opposite end of the pitch.
Hamilton ended the last campaign having put together a four-match unbeaten streak, but the Accies look far away from producing that kind of form ahead of their trip to Fir Park for the Lanarkshire derby.
Motherwell Scottish Premiership form: LLDD
Hamilton Academical Scottish Premiership form: LLL
Team News
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Despite an impressive point at Easter Road, Robinson may make changes to his Motherwell side.
Jermaine Hylton and Tony Watt are both pushing for a recall in the final third, potentially at the expense of Sherwin Seedorf and Jordan White respectively.
David Turnbull is likely to retain his place in midfield, despite speculation regarding a switch to Celtic.
As for Hamilton, Justin Johnson may be given his first start since his arrival at the club earlier this month.
Marios Ogkmpoe is also pushing for a return in attack.
Motherwell possible starting lineup:
Carson; O'Donnell, Gallagher, Mugabi, Lamie; Campbell, O'Hara, Turnbull; Hylton, Watt, Lang
Hamilton Academical possible starting lineup:
Fulton; Hodson, Odoffin, Want, McMann; Johnson, Callachan, Martin, Winter; Moyo, Templeton
We say: Motherwell 2-1 Hamilton Academical
Having shown improvement in recent games, Motherwell begin this contest as the clear favourites. While it may be tighter than many are predicting, we expect the home side to edge out their bottom-of-the-table opponents by the odd goal in three.
Top betting tip
Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting that at least one team will not score (BTTS - no) in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.BTTS No:data
Darren Plant
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 57.6%. A draw had a probability of 23% and a win for Hamilton Academical had a probability of 19.38%.
The most likely scoreline for a Motherwell win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.69%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.49%) and 2-1 (9.83%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.94%), while for a Hamilton Academical win it was 0-1 (6.1%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 6.1% likelihood.
