Motherwell will be looking for the victory that may prove enough to move them into fourth position in the Scottish Premiership standings, when they host Hearts on Wednesday.
While the hosts want to keep their performance levels high ahead of the Scottish Cup final later this month, Hearts head into the contest having already secured third place.
Head coach Graham Alexander is eager his Motherwell side finish on a high given their drop off in form since the turn of the year.
They have recorded just four wins from 19 matches across all competitions, although on of those victories came at the weekend as they succeeded 1-0 at Ross County.
Alexander has picked up seven points from five matches, and a second successive victory on Wednesday would strengthen his already-strong chances of remaining on the reigns for the next campaign.
Sitting just one point behind fourth-placed Dundee United, leapfrogging the Tangerines is the aim, though the priority may be ensuring they do not finish below Ross County in sixth.
Meanwhile, Hearts’ build up in their first season back in the Scottish Premiership would have been regarded as success, but the Jam Tarts have already claimed 61 points from their 36 league games, creating a 17-point advantage ahead of fourth spot.
Despite seeing their 10-game unbeaten run across all competitions come to an end with a 4-1 defeat at Celtic, Robbie Neilson will put aside that result ahead of trying to match the 65-point mark from 2015-16.
Ellis Simms has been the key player during the second half of the season, with the youngstar scoring his seventh goal during the loss in Glascow.
The first of those goals came in one of the reverse fixtures against Motherwell, and Simms will be motivated to further enhance his reputation heading into the summer.
Motherwell vs Hearts head to head
The two teams have previously met on 96 occasions across all competitions, where Hearts have claimed 44 victories while Motherwell have won 32, and they have drawn in 20. Hearts have scored 145 goals and conceded 106. In their last five meetings, both have won twice while they have drawn once.
Motherwell 1-0 Hearts 07/12/19
Hearts 1-1 Motherwell 07/03/20
Hearts 2-0 Motherwell 02/10/21
Motherwell 2-0 Hearts 20/11/21
Hearts 2-0 Motherwell 29/01/22
Motherwell latest home form
Motherwell have recently failed to keep a good run of form at home, as they have won just one of their six most recent matches. They managed to defeat St. Mirren 4-2 on April 2 in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored seven goals and conceded nine.
Motherwell 0-1 Ross County 02/03/22
Motherwell 1-1 Dundee 05/03/22
Motherwell 1-2 Hibernian 13/03/22
Motherwell 4-2 St. Mirren 02/04/22
Motherwell 1-3 Rangers 23/04/22
Motherwell latest away form
Motherwell have recently failed to kee a good run of form on the road, having won just one of their five most recent matches. They managed to defeat Ross County 1-0 in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored six goals and conceded seven.
Rangers 2-2 Motherwell 27/02/22
St. Johnstone 2-1 Motherwell 19/03/22
Livingston 2-2 Motherwell 09/04/22
Dundee United 1-0 Motherwell 30/04/22
Ross County 0-1 Motherwell 07/05/22
Hearts latest home form
Hearts have recently been on a good run of form at home, having been unbeaten in their seven most recent matches. They played out a goalless draw with Ross County in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 11 goals and conceded four.
Hearts 4-2 St. Mirren 12/03/22
Hearts 2-0 Livingston 19/03/22
Hearts 3-1 Hibernian 09/04/22
Hearts 2-1 Hibernian16/04/22
Hearts 0-0 Ross County 30/04/22
Hearts latest away form
Hearts lost their last away game 4-1 to Celtic in the league. However, they have recently been on a good run of form on the road, having been unbeaten in their four matches prior to that. In their last five away matches, they have scored nine goals and conceded nine.
St. Mirren 0-2 Hearts 26/02/22
Dundee United 2-2 Hearts 05/03/22
Ross County 1-1 Hearts 02/04/22
Dundee United 2-3 Hearts 24/04/22
Celtic 4-1 Hearts 07/05/22
Motherwell news
Having scored as a substitute against Ross County, Kevin van Veen is most likely to be restored to the Motherwell XI.
Either Ross Tierney or Joseph Efford will drop out of the squad, but that is likely to be the only change to the starting lineup given the level of opponent ahead.
Hearts news
While Ben Woodburn and Gary Mackay-Steven are both in contention for recalls, Liam Boyce and Barry McKay are pontentially in line to be rested.
John Souttar has been back on the substitutes’ bench after two months out and could be handed a chance in the middle of the backline on Tuesday.
Prediction and Odds
We feel that Motherwell will be regarded as the marginal favourites for this contest, as the possess the greater motivation to pick up three points.
Meanwhile, Hearts will be looking to bounce back from the defeat at Celtic, which leads us to predict an away win or a draw on Tuesday.
Odds: 1 2.60 X 2.05 2 2.20
Probable outcomes
Motherwell 0-1 Hearts
Motherwell 0-2 Hearts
Motherwell 1-2 Hearts
Motherwell 2-2 Hearts
Motherwell 1-0 Hearts
















