Motherwell and Hamilton meet for the third Lanarkshire derby of the season at Fir Park on Saturday. The teams have a win apiece already; who will claim the bragging rights?
The Accies took the points in August with the help of a Steven Boyd rocket much against the run of play. Motherwell turned the tables at New Douglas Park when Tom Aldred scored twice to start a six game inning run that lifted us well clear of the scrap at the bottom of the table.
The Bois warm up before the last visit of Hamilton
Our visitors produced the surprise result of the season last week with a 2-0 win at Pittodrie but in the context of two wins from their last fourteen attempts they are still in the mire.
Brian Rice was given the task of retaining their existence in the top flight when he was appointed to the manager’s job at the end of January and he appears to have made a reasonable start. Dundee, in the play-off spot, are three points behind them.
The Fir Park dressing room got a big boost this week when four players were named in the Scotland U21 squad for forthcoming matches. Barry Maguire is currently on loan to Queen of the South but we can expect to see Allan Campbell, David Turnbull and Jake Hastie in the starting line up alongside the other regulars.
If Motherwell are to maintain realistic hopes of a late dash into the top half of the table nothing short of three points will do. Hamilton will travel with a mixture of hope and desperation but if we resist any temptation to lower the standard set in the last few weeks then the home support should be able to enjoy a 2-0 win.