Motherwell

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

Well benefitted from two own goals as they beat Dundee United 2-1 to consolidate third place in the table.

Scott Severin and Sean Dillon scored at the wrong end, either side of a penalty from David Goodwillie.

Rudi Skacel scored a hat-trick as Hearts beat St Mirren 3-0 to register their first home league win of the season (Hearts 5/2 – betting without Celtic & Rangers).

The Czech Republic international scored twice before half time, including the opener inside the first two minutes.

Skacel claimed the match ball with the last kick of the game as Saints were left still searching for their first points on the road this season.

Colin Calderwood’s stint at Hibernian got off to a poor start as his side lost 4-2 at Aberdeen.

Calderwood had targeted the match as an opportunity to start climbing the table, against a side that had only one draw to show for their previous six games.

But Chris Maguire put the hosts in front on 18 minutes, and Scott Vernon added a second after 33 minutes via a wicked deflection off Hibs defender Sol Bamba.

And it was game over five minutes after the interval when Vernon converted Maguire’s shot-cum-cross, with Paul Hartley adding a fourth from the penalty spot.

His side did rally after the hour mark, with Colin Nish pulling a goal back and Bamba heading a second in the last minute, but it could not stop Aberdeen notching just their second home league win of the campaign.

Inverness are still unbeaten away from home in the SPL after making it three defeats on the spin for Kilmarnock as they secured a 2-1 victory at Rugby Park.

The visitors went in front three minutes before the break when Adam Rooney netted from the spot, and Johnny Haynes made it 2-0 on 66 minutes before Kilmarnock sub Rui Miguel scored his first goal for the club to give them hope.

A late Danny Grainger free-kick gave St Johnstone a 2-1 victory over Hamilton at New Douglas Park.

Sam Parkin put the visitors ahead after 19 minutes, but former Saints player Simon Mensing levelled from the spot in the 67th minute after a handball from defender Michael Duberry.

There were just four minutes left when Grainger netted with a 25-yard free-kick to seal the points.

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