Motherwell are on the verge of an historic achievement if they can qualify for the Champions League this season, but first they must get through a tough trip to the capital to take on Hearts on Tuesday night (Hearts 11/8, draw 5/2, Motherwell 9/5 – Match Betting).
With Glasgow Rangers deep in the midst of financial turmoil it’s highly unlikely the Old Firm outfit will be allowed to play in Europe next season, which has opened the door for Motherwell to potentialyl have a shot in the biggest competition in club football.
The Steelmen currently find themselves in the third place in the Scottish Premier League table, with five points between themselves and Dundee United, who look like they will miss out on the rare chance to play in the Champions League.
However, manager Stuart McCall has insisted he will not be taking anything for granted with three games of the season to go and all their focus will be on picking up as many points as possible to keep Dundee at bay.
Motherwell will certainly be buoyed by their last outing as they knocked five goals past fifth-placed St Johnstone with an accomplished performance at Fir Park.
Michael Higdon scored his 15th goal of the season whilst Estonian Henrik Ojamaa bagged himself a brace against a lacklustre Saints outfit on Saturday.
The pair will certainly cause the Hearts defence problems if Well can reproduce the attacking football that made them a constant threat at the weekend.
However, it will be a very different test when they make the trip to Tynecastle to take on a Hearts side who have booked their place in the final of the Scottish Cup to face rivals Hibernian (5/4 – Scottish Cup Outright).
The Edinburgh outfit sit in sixth place in the SPL table and will be looking for a top-four finish if they can have a strong end to the current campaign.
Hearts (4/7 – Scottish Cup Outright) have relied heavily on the goals of Rudolf Skacel this season with the Czech bagging 15 goals compared to just the five from Jamie Hammill, who is their second highest goalscorer.
In a season with Champions League qualification a serious possibility due to the situation at Rangers, Hearts will be very disappointed they aren’t in the mix for the lucrative European competition.
Motherwell have won the two previous meetings between the side this season, with a 3-0 win at Fir Park and a 1-0 win at Tynecastle, and it’s hard not to see them making it a clean sweep considering what’s at stake.
A 2-1 win for Motherwell (2-1 – Correct Scoreline – 10/1) looks a good bet, as Motherwell have looked strong in front of goal and Hearts might just have one eye on their Edinburgh derby cup final on May 19.
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Motherwell remain the closest challengers to the Old Firm after receiving a generous slice of luck in the SPL on Saturday (Motherwell 10/3 - betting without Celtic & Rangers).