The second round of the new 2020/21 Scottish Premiership season takes place this weekend. One of the fixtures to be played is the match between Motherwell and Dundee United at Fir Park. As things stand ahead of the weekend, the hosts are down in 9th place while the visitors are in 6th place.
Motherwell come into the game having suffered a 1-0 defeat at Ross County last week. It was a disappointing result for a team that finished in 3rd place last season using the points per game method. That result means, including games from last season, Motherwell have won only one of their last 9 league games.
Looking at their home form and Motherwell have won only one of their 6 most recent league matches at Fir Park. The victory came over Ross County but prior to that win Motherwell lost against St Mirren, Celtic, Hamilton Academical and Rangers. It is not a good record and one they will be hoping to reverse by winning this game.
Trends show Motherwell have conceded 2 or more goals in 4 of their 6 most recent home matches in the Scottish Premiership. In addition, over 2.5 goals have been scored in each of their last 3 home league games and Motherwell have scored at least one goal in 7 of their last 10 on home soil.
Dundee United earned promotion to the Scottish Premiership by winning the Championship last season. They finished well clear of 2nd place Inverness Caledonian Thistle using points per game and nobody can deny they deserved promotion.
Dundee United’s first match in the Premiership came at home against St Johnstone and they picked up a point in a 1-1 draw. Having taken the lead after only 6 minutes and seeing the opposition have a man sent off, Dundee United will be a little disappointed to have conceded an equaliser. Nonetheless, it was a decent start to their campaign.
Last season, Dundee United failed to win any of their final 4 away games of the shortened season. However, they lost only 2 of their 10 most recent away matches in all competitions and enjoyed a 6 game winning streak between the 2nd of November and 11th of January.
Looking at the head to head record, Dundee United have defeated Motherwell by 2 or more goals in 5 of their last 9 Premiership encounters.
Team news and Motherwell will be without the suspended Callum Lang who was sent off in the match at Ross County. Allan Campbell will hope to start the game having been an unused substitute last weekend.
Dundee United and Micky Mellon may choose to go with the same starting XI that earned a point against St Johnstone. Luke Bolton and Cameron Smith are pushing for a place in the team.
The hosts are under pressure to win this game following their defeat last week and Motherwell will be keen to score goals. However, Dundee United could cause their defence problems and it may be the visitors who come away with maximum points with both teams scoring.