Motherwell will host Hibernian on Wednesday night, with just two points separating the two teams in the league table right now, with the visitors looking to leapfrog their opponents.
Both clubs were able to progress in the Scottish Cup at the weekend, and that is something they shall be hoping to take back into the SPL after they each lost their most recent encounter in the competition.
Match preview
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Motherwell secured their first victory of the year at the weekend when they defeated Greenock Morton, but it took until the final minute of extra time in order to earn that.
A penalty from Kevin van Veen and a goal from Liam Donnelly helped the Steelmen fight from behind in order to progress into the next stage of the competition.
This saw them rebound from their most recent outing in the league where they were defeated 3-1 by Ross County, but they will be hoping to put that behind them on Wednesday.
However, Graham Alexander will be wanting to see a defensive improvement from his team in this game, with the squad having conceded 30 goals throughout the season to this point.
No other club in the top half of the table have let in more goals than Motherwell, which is a cause for concern, but they might take comfort in the fact that Hibernian are the lowest-scoring team in the top six.
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The Hibees also got themselves into the next round of the Scottish Cup at the weekend, and much like the Steelmen, they had to play through extra time in order to breakthrough.
Kevin Nisbet scored the only goal of the game, and that was enough to grant them the victory, which saw them respond to the defeat by Celtic in the league prior to that.
However, before that loss Hibernian had gone four games in a row without a defeat in the league, and that is something that had helped them to climb up the table.
Shaun Maloney will be hoping to see that continue, especially as this squad have the opportunity to climb above Motherwell with a win.
The Hibees were unable to achieve that when the two teams met earlier this season though, as they shared the points after a 1-1 draw, where a Tony Watt goal brought Motherwell back into the game.
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Team News
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Connor Shields was able to start for Motherwell at the weekend, but after failing to find the back of the net, it is likely that Van Veen will look to take his place back on Wednesday.
There should also be the chance for Jake Carroll to maintain his position at the back, where he will likely sit behind Sean Goss.
Kyle Magennis has recently returned to training for Hibernian, having been out of action since September with a groin problem, and he could be an option in midweek if his fitness is at the necessary level.
However, this will come too soon for Harry Clarke, as he is still sidelined with a hamstring problem that has stopped him making his debut for the club.
Motherwell possible starting lineup:
Kelly; O'Donnell, Johansen, McGinley, Carroll, Maguire, Donnelly, Goss; Roberts, Woolery, Van Veen
Hibernian possible starting lineup:
Macey; Bushiri, Hanlon, Doig; Campbell, Doyle-Hayes, Newell, Cadden, Wright; Boyle, Nisbet
We say: Motherwell 1-1 Hibernian
The two teams shared the points when they met earlier in the season, and there is a chance that could end up taking place once again.
Each of them are similar in quality overall, and that is reflected in the league table right now, which could end up leading to another draw this time around.
Top tip
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 Hibernian win with a probability of 39.8%. A win for Motherwell had a probability of 33.78% and a draw had a probability of 26.4%.
The most likely scoreline for a Hibernian win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.23%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.52%) and 0-2 (6.94%). The likeliest Motherwell win was 1-0 (9.27%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.56%). The actual scoreline of 0-0 was predicted with a 7.6% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a draw in this match.
