Preview:Motherwell vs St Mirren - prediction, team news, lineups

Motherwell and St Mirren are set to meet at Hampden Park on Saturday evening in the first of two semi-finals in the Scottish League Cup.

The hosts defeated Aberdeen 1-0 in their quarter-final clash, while the visitors progressed past Kilmarnock on penalties in their quarter-final.

Match preview

Motherwell have enjoyed a positive start to the 2025-26 season, including new manager Jens Berthel Askou suffering only two defeats in his first 16 matches in charge.

The Steelmen started the campaign with three wins and a draw, which they went on to win on penalties, in Group G of the Scottish League Cup, followed by back-to-back draws in the opening two games of the Scottish Premiership.

Motherwell returned to Scottish League Cup action by narrowly beating St Johnstone in the second round, courtesy of Lukas Fadinger's 108th-minute strike, and they went on to book their place at this stage of the tournament by defeating Aberdeen 1-0 in the quarter-final.

Between those two fixtures Motherwell drew all three Scottish Premiership matches, meaning they had recorded stalemates in all of their first five league fixtures, but they finally secured their first three points of the campaign against Aberdeen on matchday six.

Askou eventually tasted his first defeat as Motherwell manager against Celtic the following weekend, and they went on to lose 2-1 to Falkirk, but the Steelmen have managed to bounce back in their last two outings, defeating Livingston and Dundee United.

Aiming to both maintain their positive momentum and also book their place in the Scottish League Cup final, Askou will be eager for his side to record their first win over St Mirren since December 2024, with each of the last two meetings ending all square.

The Steelmen will be confident of achieving exactly that given the contrasting form of the two sides, as Motherwell have won each of their last two, while the Saints have now failed to win any of their last four.

That run of results includes three consecutive defeats, against Kilmarnock, Aberdeen and Dundee United, followed by a 2-2 draw with Hearts, marking a difficult period for the Saints.

St Mirren had enjoyed an encouraging start to the campaign, including one draw and three wins in the Scottish League Cup, progressing into the quarter-finals of the competition with wins against Hearts and Kilmarnock in the two knockout rounds and winning two, drawing three and losing only one of their first six league matches.

However, their recent results have seen St Mirren now drop to ninth in the Scottish Premiership standings with 10 points from 10 games, leaving them just a point above the drop zone.

Stephen Robinson will be hoping that his side will draw confidence from taking a point against league leading Hearts moving forward, and the manager will be eager for his side to build on that result by booking their place in the Scottish League Cup final.

Motherwell Scottish League Cup form:

W W W W W D

Motherwell form (all competitions):

W W L L W W

St Mirren Scottish League Cup form:

D D W W W D

St Mirren form (all competitions):

D L L L W D

Team News

Motherwell will be without Eseosa Sule, Filip Stuparevic, Jordan McGhee, Sam Nicholson and Zach Robinson for this match due to injury issues, while Stephen O'Donnell may be a doubt after coming off in the recent win against Dundee United.

In O'Donnell's absence, Emmanuel Longelo may start at right-back, likely to play alongside a similar defence of Paul McGinn, Liam Gordon and Johnny Koutroumbis.

Further forward, Lukas Fadinger and Elliot Watt are likely to start at the base of midfield, with Callum Slattery playing slightly further ahead.

As for St Mirren, Robinson is expected to have a fully fit squad available to choose from, and the manager could opt to name a similar side to the one that secured a point against league leaders Hearts last time out.

Miguel Freckleton, Richard King and Marcus Fraser are expected to start in the back three, with Conor McMenamin and Declan John featuring in wide areas.

Motherwell possible starting lineup:

Ward; Longelo, McGinn, Gordon, Koutroumbis; Fadinger, Watt; Maswanhise, Slattery, Said; Stamatelopoulos

St Mirren possible starting lineup:

George; Fraser, King, Freckleton; McMenamin, Phillips, Baccus, O'Hara, John; N'Lundulu, Mandron

We say: Motherwell 2-1 St Mirren

Motherwell have won each of their last two games, while St Mirren have now failed to win any of their last four outings, and as the Steelmen have also avoided defeat in all of the last six meetings with the Saints, we are backing the hosts to win this one.

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