Motherwell vs Hamilton
29th December 1500hrs
Football – Scotland – Premiership
Pick Both teams to score
Bookmaker Unibet
Odds: 26/25 odds taken 2000 GMT, Saturday 28 December)
Motherwell will be looking to end what has been a great 2019 on a high with victory against Hamilton in the Lanarkshire derby. The visitors need all the points they can get in their bid to stay in the Premiership and prove the doubters wrong yet again.
Scottish Premiership Betting at Unibet
Motherwell vs Hamilton Live Stats & Betting Odds
Motherwell Preview – Will Motherwell make it six wins from seven games and finish the year in third spot?
This time last year looked to be a very uncertain time for Motherwell and particularly the future of boss Stephen Robinson. The club were languishing towards the bottom of the table and there were rumours that Robinson could well be out of a job – concerns that continued into the early part of 2019. Now, however, Motherwell are in rude health and their manager has been linked with a number of jobs due to their performances. Since winning this equivalent fixture 12 months ago (the final match of 2018) ‘Well have won 21 of their 37 league games in 2019. It’s tremendous consistency for a team who have very modest resources and continually have to turnover their squad of players.
A 2-1 win away to Ross County on Boxing Day, courtesy of two late goals, mean that Motherwell come into Sunday’s game in third spot with a two point advantage over Aberdeen. Targeting such a finish at the beginning of the season would probably be unrealistic but they have been excellent throughout and it’s hard to see them falling away now. A win here would cap off what has been a brilliant calendar year and maintain the two point cushion over Aberdeen, whom they are away to in the first league game after the winter break.
Hamilton Preview – Can Hamilton respond to disappointing defeat on Boxing Day and ensure they remain off bottom spot?
Brice Rice was appointed manager of Hamilton at the start of 2019 and as the year closes out it’s basically a case of the same old story for the club. Rice led Hamilton to safety last season and avoiding the drama of the playoffs as well. That’s a success as Hamilton are regularly seen as being favourites for relegation. With one game left of this year to go they find themselves in the familiar position of second bottom, three points ahead of Hearts. That margin is due to the win over the Tynecastle club last week but they have since lost at home to St Johnstone which would have been a game they were targeting for points.
Hamilton remain the only club in the Premiership yet to win away from home with a record of four draws and five defeats. Their inability to win on their travels puts so much emphasis on winning home games which makes the loss to St Johnstone – another team in and round the relegation scrap – all that more disappointing. All concerned with Hamilton would love nothing more than to find their first away win at the home of their biggest rivals.
Key-Facts – Motherwell vs Hamilton
- Motherwell have been excellent in 2019 and they come into this game having won five of their last six matches
- Hamilton’s only win since the end of September came last week at home to Hearts and they remain second bottom following another defeat on Boxing Day
- The home team are unbeaten in the last four derby games against Hamilton and won the first meeting of the season 3-1 back in August
