The game also pitches an incoming member of the Scotland setup against an outgoing one. (Update - Houston and United have now parted company) McCall and Houston saw their teams exchange away wins in November with a single goal the margin each time. Still, Motherwell go into this one with a 7 point advantage.
United were frustrated by a late equaliser from Ross County on Saturday and they may well feel better playing away from Tannadice. They have not won at home since mid-August, 12 games ago. In addition, they have a Scottish Cup tie against Rangers next weekend, surely a distraction?
Motherwell have had plenty of recovery time since Higdon’s hat-trick delivered the victory over St Johnstone. Whether enough time has passed to allow Randolph’s dodgy hamstring to recover remains to be seen but in Hollis we have a very competent replacement. McHugh was promoted to the starting eleven last time and he’ll be hoping to establish himself as a regular. Higginbotham will be expecting some game time but it might be that he and Francis-Angol start on the bench.
The SPL games over the weekend produced results that were kind to our league position. A win would give us a handy buffer over the chasing pack and with our home form on the up a 3-1 triumph might be on the cards.
Have your say on the messageboard.