If, 12 months ago, you were told that Motherwell would be one off the bottom of the Scottish Premiership and staring down the face of a relegation play-off, you would have struggled to believe them. After all, this is a club who have finished runners-up for the last two years. It has been a completely different story this season, however, and they have a real battle on their hands if they are to remain in the division for another year. Stuart McCall – who led them to consecutive second place finishes – has long since departed following a terrible first half of the season. Ian Baraclough has taken the reins but after a bright start, ‘Well went on another terrible run where they lost seven out of eight games and won just one of 11.
Ross County have been on an incredible run of form which has seen lifted them from the bottom of the table and clear of Motherwell in the relegation play-off spot. It has been an amazing turnaround for a team who looked destined for a return to the Championship. Credit to the Ross County board who stuck with manager Jim McIntyre when many clubs may have looked to change personnel when it was tough, but their faith and loyalty appears to have paid off. County have won eight of their last 10 games which see’s them six point clear of this weekend’s opponents with four games to play. With that in mind, a win at Fir Park on Saturday would virtually guarantee their safety such is their superior goal difference.
Only bottom club St Mirren, and St Johnstone, have scored fewer goals than Motherwell this season, illustrating one of their major failings. It has been their problem in the last two matches, going down 2-0 to Partick Thistle and Hamilton. Before those losses it looked like they were getting their act together having won three in a row (for the first time this season) and scoring 11 goals in the process. Nine of those goals came in their last two home games – where they kept clean sheets, but it looks like it is a case of too little, too late. Realistically, Motherwell have to win their last four games to stand any chance of avoiding the lottery of the end of season play-offs.
Such has been their excellent recent form, Ross County have not lost an away game since the 7th of February. That is actually their only away defeat in their last nine games on the road so they will come into this fixture with great confidence. The biggest change in their recent from has been their ability to score more goals than they managed earlier in the season. In the four games before the Aberdeen match they managed just four goals, with all four ending in draws. Contrast that to the four games since where they have scored 10 goals and that has brought them 10 points from a possible 12. If County can maintain that rate of scoring then it looks a safe bet that they’ll be playing Premiership football come the new season.
If Motherwell had managed to win last weekend’s match with Hamilton then this game would have been extremely interesting. There’s a still a chance that the home team can finish above their visitors but if they are to do that then a victory on Saturday is an absolute necessity. A draw is not really of any use for Motherwell so they will be set-up to take the game to their opponents and put them under pressure from the outset. Jim McIntyre’s team have been very effective on the counter in recent months so this type of game will suit that approach. I find it difficult to pick a winner in this match but I am very keen on both teams to score. Five of County’s last seven away games have seen both teams scoring whilst six of the the last seven meetings between these two would have seen this bet win.
Both teams to score 4/6 @ Bet365
