Preview: Dundee vs. Motherwell - prediction, team news, lineups

After suffering a heavy defeat at the hands of Celtic, Dundee will look to respond in the Scottish League Cup as they host Motherwell.

The Steelmen will travel to the Kilmac Stadium this Saturday, also looking to get back to winning ways, with a place in the third round of the competition available to the winner.

Match preview

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Dundee were handed a harsh welcome to the Scottish top flight during their most recent outing as Celtic put six past James McPake's squad in what was a day to forget for the Dark Blues.

To add to their woes, left-back James Marshall was shown a red card at the end of the game, marking consecutive games that Dundee have finished with 10 men after Max Anderson was sent off against St Mirren.

Dundee have now gone three games in a row being unable to keep a clean sheet, conceding 10 goals in that time which is something that McPake will be keen to put right immediately.

The Dark Blues had a brilliant 2020-21 which saw them earn promotion from the Scottish Championship, finishing in second place as they worked their way to the Scottish Premiership via the playoffs.

However, when it comes to the Scottish League Cup the group did not fare quite as well, being knocked out in the second round by Hibernian in a 1-0 loss.

Dundee were impressive during the group stage of the competition though, managing to win all four games comfortably, keeping three clean sheets and scoring 19 goals in the process.

On the other hand, Motherwell did not manage a clean sweep of the group stage as they suffered a surprise loss against Airdrieonians, but they were able to still qualify with three other victories.

Graham Alexander watched his team suffer a defeat on the opening day of the season against Hibernian and they come into this game on the back of a 1-1 draw away at St Johnstone.

It took until the 80th minute for Tony Watt to cancel out the own goal that his teammate Stephen O'Donnell scored in the first half in a game that Alexander was disappointed not to win due to the number of chances his side created.

Last season Motherwell were also knocked out at this stage of the competition as St Johnstone were able to dispatch them, meaning that one team is guaranteed to do better than they managed last year.

Team News

McPake will be without talisman Danny Mullen for this fixture, with his fibula injury keeping him out of action, meaning Cillian Sheridan is likely to keep his place in the team - although there could be an opportunity for Jason Cummings to make his impact as well.

Liam Fontaine missed the Celtic match due to a hamstring issue and it is likely that the defender will once again be unavailable, with Ryan Sweeney and Lee Ashcroft potentially continuing their partnership in this fixture.

The cup could feature an opportunity for Alexander to shake things up with his team and provide some opportunities to players who have not had as many minutes as of yet.

Because of that Steven Lawless could be featured in midfield after impressing off the bench against St Johnstone, while new signing Darragh O'Connor could be in line to make his debut after joining from Leicester City this summer.

Watt could also have earned himself a place in Alexander's starting lineup following his goal last weekend after coming on in the second half on Saturday.

Dundee possible starting lineup:
Legzdins; Elliot, Sweeney, Ashcroft, Marshall; McGowan, Adam, Byrne, McGhee, McMullan; Sheridan

Motherwell possible starting lineup:
Kelly; O'Donnell, O'Connor, Lamie, Carroll; Lawless, Slattery, Maguire; Watt, Van Veen, Woolery

We say: Dundee 2-1 Motherwell

Both teams are in need of a victory in this Scottish League Cup tie, simply to kickstart their respective seasons in a more positive manner, and that should make for a close game.

However, with Dundee proving to have no problems finding the back of the net in the group stage, they should provide a major threat that will be enough to secure passage into the next round.