Just before the Christmas celebrations begin, Motherwell and Kilmarnock will battle at Fir Park as two sides slumped down at the bottom end of the table meet with one another as the home side plays their first competitive game since November.
The Scottish Premiership did return to TV screens last week, but Motherwell have had to wait until Friday night to play out their first competitive game since November 13th because of the postponed game against St. Mirren.
A delayed return to action.— Motherwell FC (@MotherwellFC) December 20, 2022
A delayed return to action.
Motherwell did play against Tottenham Hotspur a few weeks back, however, but in losing 4-0 to the Premier League side, the SPFL outfit took absolutely nothing from the game other than the fact the team got to get a run out against a top side before action continued on the domestic front.
With this now being Motherwell’s first league game in so long, it’s tough to see how they approach this one.
Ahead of the game, the club are two points above Kilmarnock and sitting ninth in the table. They do also have just a three-point gap on Hibernian just above them in the table and with them also having a game in hand, Motherwell will be hopeful of moving higher in the table before 2023.
Steven Hammell's men are also the highest-scoring team in the bottom half of the table, despite sitting ninth and playing a game less.
Their 20 goals scored is just one less than St. Johnstone up in fifth, but with the Steelmen losing nine times and letting in 22 goals from 16 games, there is clearly need for improvement if they want to finish in the top half of the table once more.
As for Kilmarnock, their return to league action was met with a loss to the high-flying Hearts. Ash Taylor did get a goal for the club, but in going two goals down inside 30 minutes, Derek McInnes' men barely stood a chance in the end.
The game finished 3-1 to Hearts, and McInnes now sees his side slumped into 11th and just three points above last place.
Worse yet, Dundee United in 12th have a game in hand and it all means Kilmarnock could be at the foot of the table before 2023 if things don’t improve.
It's tough to see Kilmarnock getting anything out of this game with just four wins on the board and 30 goals conceded already from 17 games. Forebet predicts a win for Motherwell and for the game to see over 2.5 goals.