Preview Motherwell

Coming just days after a morale boosting 3-0 win at Kilmarnock, this is a match that cannot come quick enough.

This match was postponed on 28th December because of storm damage to the stadium.  Now this game in hand gives the Pars the opportunity to leapfrog eleventh placed, Hibs. Coming just days after a morale boosting 3-0 win at Kilmarnock, this is a match that cannot come quick enough.

In 25 Premier League meetings at Fir Park, Dunfermline have managed six wins and six draws so as the Pars search for points to lift them off the bottom spot in the league, Motherwell would not appear to be the best place to going.

The last visit to Motherwell was in March 2007 when a Scott McDonald double ended any hopes of a Pars win.  The last league victory at Fir Park was in April 2006 when goals from Iain Campbell, Mark Burchill and Gary Mason did the trick.

The last twelve league matches have seen two wins for Dunfermline, seven for Motherwell and three draws.  The most recent meeting at East End Park in August this year ended up with a 4-2 away win.

Motherwell had a great start to the season but have gone through a lean spell, taking just two points from the last five games.  Having held third place for a while, they now lie fifth in the league and if anything their achilles heel is their home form. They won the first two against Inverness Caley Thistle and Hearts but since then they have only taken full points from one of their following eight games - that was a 1-0 win over Aberdeen. At Tannadice on Saturday they required a Michael Higdon four minutes from time to register a draw after three league defeats in a row.

Dunfermline have just 17 points from 22 games and the incentive on Tuesday night is that a victory would lift them off the foot of the table. Hibs but with a vastly inferior goal difference.  Away form has been better than home form with three wins from the ten games on the road but they have taken only one point from the last league games.

Last Time Out

DUNFERMLINE (last time out v Kilmarnock): Iain Turner; Andy Dowie, Kevin Rutkiewicz, Alex Keddie, Paddy Boyle; David Graham, Mark Kerr (Ryan Thomson 93), Gary Mason (c), Joe Cardle; Liam Buchanan (Martin Hardie 88), Andy Barrowman (Andy Kirk 80).
SUBS NOT USED: Chris Smith (GK), John Potter, Shaun Byrne, Kerr Young.

MOTHERWELL (last time out v Dundee United): Darren Randolph; Steven Hammell, Shaun Hutchinson, Stephen Craigan, Nicky Law, Keith Lasley, Omar Daley, Steven Jennings, Tom Hateley, Jamie Murphy, Michael Higdon
SUBS: Tom Bradley, Robert McHugh, Stuart Carswell, Ross Forbes, Henrik Ojamaa, Chris Humphrey, Tim Clancy

Steve Jennings returned after injury and suspension to provide a boost to Stuart McCall`s side in Dundee on Saturday. 

The Referee will be Alan Muir. The 36-year-old has taken charge of ten SPL games in this campaign, including Kilmarnock`s 1-1 draw with Dundee Utd, Rangers` 2-0 win at McDiarmid Park, Kilmarnock`s 1-0 win over both Hearts at Tynecastle and Rangers at Rugby Park and, most recently, Inverness CT`s 2-1 victory of Aberdeen a week past Saturday.

Alan will be ably assisted on the day by James Bee and Ross Haswell, with Greg Aitken on fourth official duties. Referee observer is Ray Morrison and the SPL delegate is Ally Dawson.

Come on ye Pars!