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Motherwell logo
Scottish League Cup | Second Round
Nov 28, 2020 at 3pm UK
Fir Park
St Johnstone logo

Motherwell
1 - 2
St Johnstone

Watt (61')
Gallagher (10')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Hendry (68'), Wotherspoon (77')
O'Halloran (41'), Gordon (57')

Preview: Motherwell vs. St Johnstone - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Scottish League Cup clash between Motherwell and St Johnstone, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

St Johnstone travel to Motherwell in the Scottish League Cup on Saturday, having hosted the reverse fixture in the league last weekend.

The home side head into this game having topped Group C, while Motherwell face their first match in the competition and hope to improve on last season's effort, having previously lost at this stage.


Match preview

Motherwell boss Steve Robinson pictured in November 2019© Reuters

Steve Robinson refused to use the absences of duo Allan Campbell and Barry Maguire as an excuse for Motherwell's disappointing 1-1 draw with St Johnstone on Saturday.

Both Campbell and Maguire were ruled out of the game just hours before kickoff after they were identified as close contacts with the three Scottish Under-21s players who tested positive for coronavirus during the international break.

The draw with St Johnstone does mean that the Steelmen keep up their good record against the Saints, winning five of their last eight league meetings and keeping a clean sheet in four of their previous seven encounters.

Motherwell have also won their last three matches at home against St Johnstone, scoring eight goals and keeping three clean sheets.

The Steelmen lost 2-1 to Hearts at this stage of the competition last season but a victory on Saturday would see Motherwell qualify for the quarter-finals for only the second time in the last seven years.

St Johnstone have put together a good run of form which has seen them go unbeaten in eight of their last nine matches in all competitions – their only loss being a 4-3 defeat on penalties by Dundee United in the Scottish League Cup, after the match finished goalless.

Callum Davidson guided his side to three wins from four games to top Group C, beating Peterhead, Kelty Hearts and Brechin City, scoring 12 goals across those matches.

The Saints come into this fixture with Motherwell having drawn 2-2 away to Hibernian in the Scottish Premiership on Tuesday, their third draw in four league matches.

A victory for St Johnstone this weekend would see them reach the quarter-finals for the seventh time in the last nine years.

Motherwell form (all competitions): LLWWLD

St Johnstone Scottish League Cup form: WWLW
St Johnstone form (all competitions): DWLWDD


Team News

Declan Gallagher in action for Motherwell on November 10, 2019© Reuters

Motherwell pair Allan Campbell and Barry Maguire are self-isolating and so are ruled out of first-team action.

Centre-back Ricki Lamie could be handed a start, which would likely see one of Bevis Mugabi or Declan Gallagher drop to the bench.

St Johnstone defender Shaun Rooney could replace Jamie McCart in the back-three, while left-back Scott Tanser may drop to the bench with Callum Booth starting ahead of him.

David Wotherspoon, who came off the bench to score against Hibernian in midweek, could be recalled to the starting lineup.

Motherwell possible starting lineup:
Chapman; O'Donnell, Mugabi, Lamie, McGinley; O'Hara, Crawford, Polworth; Lang, Watt, Cole

St Johnstone possible starting lineup:
Clark; Rooney, Keer, Gordon; McNamara, McCann, Craig, Booth; Wotherspoon, Melamed; May


SM words green background

We say: Motherwell 1-1 St Johnstone

Last weekend's draw was the first between the two sides in their last 10 meetings. With the home side having a good record against St Johnstone and with the visitors maintaining their good form we could see another draw at Fir Park, with the match being decided on penalties.


Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a home win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home Win:data


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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a St Johnstone win with a probability of 37.56%. A win for Motherwell had a probability of 37.47% and a draw had a probability of 25%.

The most likely scoreline for a St Johnstone win was 1-2 with a probability of 8.38%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (8.19%) and 0-2 (5.86%). The likeliest Motherwell win was 2-1 (8.37%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.7%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with an 8.4% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-2 win for St Johnstone in this match.


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Jack Ross pictured in charge of Sunderland in September 2019
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Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
1Ayr431010
2Stirling431010
3St Johnstone41033
4Stenhousemuir41033
5Alloa41033

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
1Partick32107
2Falkirk32016
3Dundee Utd42026
4Spartans42026
5Peterhead40131

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
1Livingston33009
2Hamilton22006
3Cove Rangers32016
4Brechin41033
5Clyde40040

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
1Ross County33009
2Morton43019
3Kelty Hearts32016
4Stranraer41033
5Edinburgh40040

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
1Airdrieonians440012
2Dundee43019
3Dumbarton31023
4Inverness41033
5Bonnyrigg Rose30030

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
1Kilmarnock33009
2Dunfermline32016
3Raith Rovers22006
4Albion Rovers41033
5Annan40040

Group G

TeamPWDLPTS
1Motherwell33009
2QotS22006
3Queen's Park41124
4East Fife31114
5Elgin40040

Group H

TeamPWDLPTS
1St Mirren43019
2Forfar43019
3Arbroath31023
4Montrose31023
5Cowdenbeath20020


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