Dundee United will visit Fir Park on Tuesday night for their clash against Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership. Both teams will be looking to get back to winning ways and get back on track. The visitors earned three points the last time the two clubs faced off, and with only four points separating them in the league, they have a chance to pull away with another strong performance.
Motherwell faced a shock defeat at the weekend when they were defeated by Dundee FC, who sit in the relegation zone. They lost 0-3 in a comfortable result for Dundee, even though Motherwell dominated the possession on the day. This brought an end to their two-match winning streak, following consecutive 2-0 wins against Hearts and Aberdeen, which helped to get their season back on track. Before that, Motherwell had gone five games in a row without a win, a run of form which included a defeat against Dundee United, who got the best of them when they last met.
Motherwell made a total of 10 attempts on goal and had three shots on target. The pass map indicates that they constructed most of their attacks from the left flank as they had a higher number of crosses and smart passes played in from the left side of the pitch.
Tony Watt has been their major source of goals this season as the Scottish striker has scored seven goals so far in the Premiership for Motherwell. His attacking stats indicate that the numbers he has put up this season are much better than the median league value for similar players. Watt has an xG of 0.43 per 90 minutes and has a success rate of 42.98% with the 8.23 attacking actions he attempts per 90 minutes. He will be an influential figure for Motherwell against Dundee on Tuesday night.
Dundee United were also left frustrated at the weekend against a team in the relegation zone when they were held to a draw against Ross County. Despite the fact they had taken the lead through Louis Appéré, they could not hold onto it, despite the opposition ending the game with 10 men, with Jack Baldwin equalizing in the 93rd minute. It continued a difficult run for Dundee United, who have only managed two victories in their previous six fixtures, which is something they shall be looking to improve on.
The above visual shows us the breakdown of the xT generated by the Dundee United players against Ross County. Most of the Dundee United players had a high xT from their passes, but they also failed to make the right pass when they got into threatening positions on the pitch. Ilmari Niskanen had a high xT from the dribbles he attempted but was not able to provide the right pass.
Niskanen has featured mostly on the left flank for Dundee United and has been able to put in crosses with a high xT into the penalty area. He has provided three assists so far, and he will be looking to put up a great performance against Motherwell to strengthen his team’s position in the Premiership table.
A win provides Dundee United with the chance to climb up the league table while also putting further distance between themselves and Motherwell, strengthening their position in the division. Motherwell will want to shake off the poor performance against Dundee and will look forward to putting up a better result against Dundee United.
Motherwell predicted starting lineup:
Kelly, Mugabi, Johansen, Lamie, McGinley, Grimshaw, Maguire, Slattery, Watt, Woolery, Shields.
Dundee United predicted starting lineup:
Siegrist, Freeman, Edwards, Mulgrew, McMann, Niskanen, Hoti, Harkes, Pawlett, Clark, Appéré.
