The winter break ends as Scottish Cup fourth round action draws Motherwell to Dundee on Saturday evening. Could this be the start of a run to Hampden in May?
With Motherwell sitting pretty in third place in the Premiership table and Dundee currently in fourth place in the league below it is no surprise that the bookies have us as odds on favourites. Before any claret and amber money is backed a memory of last year’s cup loss to the then Championship side Ross County may temper enthusiasm.
Motherwell celebrate a cup goal at Dens Park
In an attempt to ward off the slackness that contributed to that early exit Stephen Robinson was keen to have a match arranged to bring his charges up to speed before facing opponents not short of match practice. That was scheduled for Wednesday.
There have been half a dozen cup meetings between the teams since Motherwell first won the old trophy in 1952. Goals from Craig Tanner and Curtis Main delivered a win in the last knockout meeting at Dens in February 2018.
Our opponents lost their last game to Inverness in the first week of 2020 and last Saturday’s match with Ayr was postponed due to Dens Park being waterlogged.
The main goal threat we face is likely to come from Kane Hemmings and our former striker and their current top scorer Danny Johnson.
Our new loan signing, Mikael Ndjoli, may be rewarded with a place on the bench but we can expect a familiar starting eleven. A fairly consistent selection policy has served well so far this season and there is no reason to anticipate a major shuffle.
The teams are likely to provide both the fans that brave the elements and the Saturday night TV audience with some thrilling entertainment but the Lanarkarkshire side are more likely to enjoy passage into the fifth round – 2-0 to the Mighty ‘Well.