Motherwell v Kilmarnock: Prediction, Tips and Odds

Motherwell moved up to fourth in the Scottish Premiership after beating Dundee United last weekend and will be looking to cement this position by making it three straight wins when they host Kilmarnock on Friday night.

They will be heartened by their home record against Killie, who will be desperate to avoid defeat and keep 11 men on the pitch.

Motherwell v Kilmarnock betting tips and predictions

Motherwell to win - 7/5

They are dreaming of Europe again at Fir Park after Motherwell jumped to fourth in the Scottish Premiership last weekend, a position they can guarantee into Christmas by beating Kilmarnock.

The Steelmen had not scored more than twice in any league game since August before last Saturday, when they turned on the taps against Dundee United, running out 4-3 winners.

This result followed the previous weekend's 1-0 win at St Mirren and Stuart Kettlewell could do with making it three in a row before a crunch Old Firm double-header between Christmas and New Year.

Well have been fairly inconsistent with eight wins and seven losses in their 16 league games. They haven't drawn any match since a 0-0 draw with Killie at Fir Park in the League Cup in August, a game Kettlewell's men won 1-0 in extra-time.

Kilmarnock had a man sent off in that match - Stuart Findlay picking up two yellows - and that is becoming a common and costly theme for the club.

Findlay's red at Motherwell back in late summer was one of seven picked up by the Ayrshire club already this term, the most recent coming in Saturday's 1-0 win over Hearts, with Robbie Deas banished after just six minutes.

It was an enormous credit to Killie that they went on to beat Hearts - an admittedly poor Jambos side who are propping up the division - and it ended a six-game winless run.

But it means centre-back Deas sits out this weekend and keeper Robby McCrorie also limped out of that win.

Killie have a fair few other absentees as well as they prepare to head for Fir Park, where they haven't won on their last six visits.

Apostolos Stamatelopoulos Anytime Scorer - 2/1

Australian frontman Apostolos Stamatelopoulos was pretty much unstoppable last weekend, scoring twice and racking up five shots against a Terrors defence who struggled to deal with him.

Kilmarnock's back five, reshaped once again because of the enforced absence of Deas, could have the same difficulty.

Stamatelopoulos has taken a while to settle in Scotland after his summer move from Newcastle Jets and a superb goalscoring campaign in last season's A-League.

But his efforts, first for the Jets and recently Well, earned him an international call-up in October and he has now bagged three goals in his last three games.

Confidence is everything for strikers and the 25-year-old, who averages 1.6 shots per game, should be full of it following last weekend's exploits.

Killie have the leakiest away defence in the SPL - having conceded 24 goals in 10 games - so Stamatelopoulos will expect to find the net.

Both Teams to Receive 2+ Cards - No @ 6/5

Derek McInnes will surely have read the riot act to his squad this week over the number of suspensions they are incurring following Deas' sending-off against Hearts.

The interesting thing, however, is they are anything but a dirty side, just a team full of rash decision-makers.

Seven reds in all domestic competitions is a wretched statistic yet they have only collected 29 yellows in their 17 matches. They are not bad boys by any stretch.

Nine clubs have picked up more cautions than Killie this season in the Scottish top-flight, but that doesn't include the Steelmen. They are relative angels with 27 yellows to their name.

There is absolutely no reason to think cards will be flying around Fir Park and the price of 6/5 that at least one side picks up no more than one card looks a really decent call.

Read more football betting tips and predictions on site

Motherwell v Kilmarnock odds

Motherwell - 27/20
Draw - 12/5
Kilmarnock - 2/1

View the full market and more odds for Motherwell v Kilmarnock on site

Read Motherwell v Kilmarnock how to watch, TV channel, head-to-head stats and more on site

This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.