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

Hibernian will host Motherwell on Saturday as the SPL continues, with both teams going through an inconsistent patch of form as of late.

Each club find themselves in the top half of the table, but with only six points separating them right now, there is a lot on the line in this fixture.

Match preview

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Hibernian's mixed form continued throughout the past week after they went from a victory at the weekend to a defeat in midweek, which truly has been the tale of their season so far.

The Hibees defeated St Johnstone, but they followed that up with a loss when facing Rangers in midweek, with a late penalty from Kemar Roofe being the only goal in the game.

Jack Ross will be pushing for his team to immediately bounce back from the loss though, and with the qualities that his squad have shown at times, they certainly have the ability.

The fact Hibernian have been so inconsistent has resulted in them dropping down to midtable, but given that they have games in hand on all the teams above, they will be confident that a rise can take place.

If the Hibees are able to secure a win at the weekend, they would close the gap between them and Motherwell to just a point, which would be beneficial with their extra matches coming up.

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The Steelmen have also been inconsistent as of late, which is something they will wish to recover from and their midweek victory could have been the start of that.

Graham Alexander's men bounced back from a 3-0 loss against Dundee by defeating Dundee United 1-0, despite the fact that they had 10 men.

Tony Watt broke the deadlock with the only goal of the game and they were able to hang onto that throughout the match, with the last 10 minutes being played without Barry Maguire following his red card.

With a victory having the chance to take Motherwell as high as third in the league, the squad will be well aware of the potential surrounding this fixture.

However, the Steelmen will also remember that they lost against Hibernian when they last competed, which was on the opening day of the season.

The game proved to be a five-goal thriller that saw Motherwell take the lead twice, only for the Hibees to respond well with a penalty from Martin Boyle eventually sealing the result.

Team News

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Hibernian were at full strength offensively in midweek due to the return of Boyle from suspension and even though they failed to score it will be him and Kevin Nisbet will lead the line on Saturday.

Ross has opted not to make too many changes to his team as of late and that could result in him naming the exact same starting XI against the Steelmen.

Motherwell shall be without Maguire following his red card which will result in at least one change being made to the side that were able to beat Dundee United.

Sean Goss was able to return following his injury which saw Liam Grimshaw drop out, but following the suspension, there is a good chance he will slot back into the team.

Hibernian possible starting lineup:
Macey; McGinn, Porteous, Hanlon; Cadden, Doyle-Hayes, Newell, Doig, Campbell; Nisbet, Boyle

Motherwell possible starting lineup:
Kelly; Mugabi, Johansen, Lamie, McGinley; Slattery, Grimshaw, Goss; Woolery, Watt, Van Veen

We say: Hibernian 1-1 Motherwell

There is not much to separate these two clubs right now in terms of their form or their positions within the league table and that is something that could continue after this weekend.

Neither team will be willing to risk too much, especially since they are not in the most consistent form, therefore a draw could take place.

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