20th May 2017 Kickoff: 1945hrs Inverness Caley Thistle v Motherwell – Football – Scotland – Premiership The only thing left to figure out in the Scottish Premiership this season is the small matter of relegation and the relegation playoff. Inverness and Hamilton know they will finish in the bottom two no matter what but the question is in what order. The situation has looked bleak for Inverness for the majority of the season and when they lost 4-0 to Ross County a fortnight ago they appeared to be set for automatic relegation. Hamilton, though, are in dire form at just the wrong time and have lost their last four so with one point between them it’s all to play for on Saturday.
It’s been a struggle the whole season for Inverness and their manager Richie Foran but there may just be light at the end of the tunnel, or a glimmer of it at least. Despite having won just six games all season they know if they can win against Motherwell and Hamilton fail to do so against Dundee then they will get a stay of execution and enter in the two legged playoff final with either Falkirk or Dundee United. It was the win over the other Dundee club on Wednesday night that has given Caley real hope heading into Saturday’s game and the fact it was their first away win since the 26th of October makes it all the more impressive, not to mention invaluable. They also won their last home game when seeing off Hamilton 2-1 and the club have attempted to fill their stadium for the weekend by offering free tickets in an attempt to give the team as much backing as possible.
Motherwell have been threatened with relegation for virtually the whole of the second half of the campaign but they have managed to pull themselves clear in the last couple of weeks. Consecutive wins Hamilton in Kilmarnock in the past week have secured their Premiership status for another year and ‘Well fans will be breathing a huge sigh of relief having won only three of 15 before those wins. The sacking of Mark McGhee a couple of months ago has appeared to work out for the best and the challenge the new manager, Stephen Robinson has, is building on the positive end to the campaign and attempting to strengthen the squad ahead of the new season. Saturday will be the first time that Motherwell will have played a game without any sort of pressure for months and it will be interesting to see how they react considering how much is at stake for their opponents.
Inverness Caley Thistle v Motherwell Betting Tip
The record between these two this season is two wins for Motherwell and one for Inverness. Caley won the first meeting in comfortable fashion at Fir Park but the Steelmen have had the upper hand on the previous two occasions, winning 2-1 on their last visit to the Highlands and taking the spoils 4-2 a month ago at home. I alluded to the fact that the visitors will come into this one free of the pressure that has followed them round with the threat of relegation hanging over their head but it will be the exact opposite for Inverness who know the ramifications should they not win. Even if they can take all three points it may not be enough depending on the result in the Hamilton-Dundee game.
Inverness have shown enough to suggest that they are capable of winning this and I get the impression that Motherwell would have enjoyed themselves following their crucial win over Kilmarnock in midweek and they may not be at their sharpest for this one.
Inverness 7/10 @ Skybet
