Kilmarnock will provide the opposition for Motherwell under the Fir Park floodlights on Wednesday. This clash of third against fourth should provide a warming antidote to the chilly autumn evening.
The teams had contrasting outcomes at the weekend. A late Gary Dicker goal against St Mirren at Rugby Park delivered three points for Kilmarnock on Saturday while Motherwell were pointless at Ibrox on Sunday. The upshot was that Kilmarnock leapfrogged us into third place.
The visitors are enjoying a fine run of form that features one loss in their last ten outings and they come to Motherwell on the back of three consecutive league wins. This first meeting of the teams this season will end the first round of Premiership fixtures.
Angelo Alessio has his team set up in a way that concedes and scores few goals. The current table shows that in ten fixtures they have nine in the For column and eight in the Against. The fact that midfielder Dicker and right back Stephen O’Donnell are their top scorers with two each tells the tale.
Stephen Robinson adopted an unusual 3-5-2 formation at Ibrox but it would seem likely that he will revert to the tried and tested 4-4-2 on Wednesday. Sherwin Seedorf and James Scott will hope to return to starting positions in support of either Chris Long or Devante Cole.
Third place is the prize for the winner and home advantage may tip the game our way. A 1-0 result will get the job done.