The stop-start league campaign resumes with Motherwell away to Kilmarnock on Saturday.
The Steelmen have a busy fortnight ahead with midweek games against Hibs and Falkirk sandwiched between the Saturday meetings with Kilmarnock, Hearts and Livingston. With the first league cycle complete Motherwell sit just above the halfway split, can they use this upcoming run to move up?
Rugby Park has not been a happy hunting ground for Motherwell in recent years but a look at recent form suggests that the visiting support will travel with optimism. Kilmarnock have lost five in a row while Jens Berthel Askou has seen his team collect seven points from the last three league games.
Stuart Kettlewell has a goalkeeping problem to overcome. Max Stryjek has been unavailable for more than a month. To fill his absence Eddie Beach was promoted for three first team appearances and Tobi Oluwayemi was brought in from Celtic to serve for two games with an emergency loan. Who will be in goal at the weekend?
Kilmarnock’s upcoming midfielder David Watson captained the Scotland U21s at Fir Park on Tuesday. He is a key player for the Killie side but he had to be substituted in the second half after what seemed to be a knock on the ankle. Our former manager does not have his troubles to seek and the social media mutterings about his tenures grow.
With luck (and a top six finish) this could be the last time we have to watch a game on the seven year old artificial pitch. We look forward to a natural surface in future.
Motherwell’s international trio, Tawanda Maswanhise, Eli Just and Regan Charles-Cook, were on distant duties and they will be welcomed back to chilly Lanarkshire, hopefully in good shape. Just probably shared the journey back to Scotland with his New Zealand team-mate George Stanger, they will be on opposite sides on Saturday.
Once again, striking duties will be shared between Apostolos Stamatelopoulos and Callum Hendry although ‘Well goals tend to be spread throughout the team. Stephen O’Donnell is back in training after the recurrence of the injury that prevented his appearance at Hampden.
The odds favour a happy homeward journey for the Steelmen. Might we expect a 3-1 away win?
Remember the last visit to Rugby Park?
