Motherwell travel to Easter Road on Saturday aiming to increase the lead over Hibs from a couple of points to a handful.
Both teams are enjoying a fine run of form. Wins over Hearts, Aberdeen and Kilmarnock have given Hibs a perfect return in the last three games while Motherwell have lost only one in the last thirteen.
Elie Youan and Jamie McGrath were praised for their contribution to Hibs’ success at Rugby Park last weekend but such has been standard shown by David Gray’s charges that several others could have shared the limelight.
They are not short of goal scorers. Kieron Bowie, McGrath and Martin Boyle have added nineteen to the thirty six displayed in the current league table. Hibs usually find a way to score though they failed to find the net when they suffered a 2-0 defeat at Fir Park in November. In that game Motherwell switched formation to three at the back.
In that last meeting Tawanda Maswanhise and Eli Just got the goals and they will probably be starters on Saturday. Jens Berthel Askou rarely fields the same eleven in consecutive outings and it is likely that his analysis will see another permutation this time around.
The strikers Callum Hendry and Apostolos Stamatelopoulos appear to have retreated to the shadows of the substitute bench recently as the team relies increasingly on generating opportunities for players pushing on from midfield.
Hibs have nominated this game as a Football for a Fiver event and a sell-out is almost guaranteed. Motherwell announced that all the away end seats were taken at the beginning of the week. A full house and plenty of entertainment seems assured. Matthew MacDermid will be the man in the middle.
Motherwell’s defence has conceded only once in the last nine games. On the other hand the Steelmen have not scored in any of the last three away trips. We may see a change this weekend after a 1-1 draw.
