Jim Gannon will turn his attention from the SFA's referee department to the field of play for his first visit to Easter Road. He might be encouraged to know that Motherwell recorded a win and a draw in Leith last season and he'll know that if we are at our best they will have to produce something special to beat us.
The problem is that they do have players who can turn a game. Riordan and Zemmama are capable of creating chances from unlikely positions and any loss of concentration for our defence could be costly. Although our resistance to high balls into the box has improved since Ruddy joined the ranks Nish will pose a threat and the Saunders/Reynolds combination will have to be alert to stop the big striker. Easter Road on the last trip
We started the game against Dundee United with an unchanged eleven. Gannon's style has been to chop and change the team to take account of the opposition and it was unusual for 'no change' to describe last week's starting sheet. O'Brien has been benched for the last couple of games; maybe he'll get a start in his favoured wide role at Easter Road?
Early reports suggest that Hutchison and Humphrey will not be available but that Jennings has been training this week and a place on the bench seems likely.
Hibs are five points ahead of us and on the form they have shown so far, they deserve their current third place. However, the change in Motherwell this season is that we have learned not to lose close encounters and it may be that yet another 1-1 draw lies ahead.