Previous meetings this season have had their highlights. At Easter Road Motherwell recovered from a two goal deficit and won the game 3-2 thanks to a double from Murphy and an 88th minute winner from McHugh. The game at Fir Park last October (also on a Friday night) saw Hibs win 4-0 but at crucial times in that encounter Stevie O'Reilly and his assistants blundered by ignoring Hammell's 'goal' and then awarding the visitors a penalty for a foul outside the area.
The game sees the SPL’s top scorers in action. Griffiths has scored in his team's last four outings, he has claimed seven of their last nine and the officials denied him a famous derby goal against Hearts last weekend. In short, he's in form and we'll have to restrict his opportunities.
Lining up in claret and amber will be Michael Higdon. The first Motherwell player since Willie Pettigrew to reach the 20 goals a season mark still has eight chances to add to his tally.
Both teams have recently welcomed former players back to their ranks. Kevin Thomson has donated his services to Hibs and is likely to start the game on the bench. For Motherwell, James McFadden has been racking up the playing minutes and he’ll soon be able to deliver a full shift.
Hutchinson has served the one match suspension that kept him from playing at Pittodrie and we should be at full strength for this one. The form book would suggest that there will be goals but there’s no hint about a likely winner. Maybe both teams will be content with a 2-2 draw.
Remember the last time Hibs visited?