Motherwell and St Mirren are level on points and goal difference right now in the Scottish Premiership, and each team will be looking to take advantage on Saturday when they compete against each other.
The hosts are 11 matches without a victory in the league, while the Buddies also head into the game on the back of consecutive defeats.
Match preview
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The second half of the season has proven to be difficult for Motherwell, having failed to win a single league match in 2022 so far.
It has been a tough run for Graham Alexander's team, who have relied upon draws to keep them in contention to finish in the top half, but they now need to kick on and get back to earning three points.
The Steelmen are just a point away from the top six, and a victory on Saturday has the potential to take them up to fourth depending on other results.
However, they will need to drastically improve their recent performances in order to make that happen, and that is something that the squad will believe they can do.
Motherwell have been unable to defeat St Mirren this season in their previous two encounters, with both of those games resulting in draws.
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That is something that the Buddies will want to improve upon, especially as there is nothing to separate them from their opponents in the league table.
There is a lot on the line for them as well here with just two points separating fifth from 10th place in the table.
While St Mirren have not struggled to the degree of Motherwell in terms of results this year, they do head into this match on the back of two losses prior to the international break.
Steve Robinson's men were knocked out of the Scottish Cup against Hearts, and they followed that up with a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Dundee United.
Despite the fact Jay Henderson had given his team a third-minute lead, it was not enough to secure the result, with the situation being made even worse when Jak Alnwick was sent off.
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Team News
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Kevin van Veen led the line for Motherwell in their most recent match, and despite the fact that they lost 2-1, he was able to get on the scoresheet which should keep him in the team here.
Alexander will likely continue to utilise the 3-4-3 formation, providing plenty of width to his team as they look to secure their first league victory of the year.
With Alnwick suspended for St Mirren, an opportunity has arisen for Dean Lyness, who will be set to start in goal on Saturday.
Henderson was brought back into the team during their previous outing due to Jordan Jones being injured, and that is something that will likely continue this weekend.
Motherwell possible starting lineup:
Kelly; Ojala, Lamie, Johansen; Carroll, Donnelly, Cornelius, O'Donnell; Efford, Shields, Van Veen
St Mirren possible starting lineup:
Lyness; Tait, Dunne, Shaughnessy, Fraser; Ronan, Power, Gogic; Henderson, Kiltie, Brophy
We say: Motherwell 1-2 St Mirren
Both of these teams are out of form right now, and they will be hoping that this is the perfect match for them to get things back on track.
Motherwell are yet to pick up a single victory this year in the league, and that is a run that could continue here, especially as St Mirren have just as much to play for.
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 Motherwell win with a probability of 45.68%. A win for St Mirren had a probability of 27.4% and a draw had a probability of 26.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Motherwell win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.46%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.89%) and 2-0 (8.72%). The likeliest St Mirren win was 0-1 (9.08%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.7%). The actual scoreline of 4-2 was predicted with a 0.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Motherwell would win this match.
