Motherwell will strive to end their five-game losing streak when they welcome Hearts to Fir Park in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday. 

The hosts have fallen to 10th in the standings with eight points from nine games, while the visitors are third in the table with 16 points after nine fixtures.

Match preview

After an encouraging start to his first season as Motherwell manager, Alfred Johansson now finds his position at the helm coming under pressure after a miserable recent run. 

The Steelmen remained unbeaten in their opening six games of the season across all competitions, with Motherwell recording four victories and two draws. 

However, a 1-0 defeat to Stenhousemuir in the Scottish League Cup second round sparked a considerable downturn in form from Johansson's team, who have now won just one of their last 10 matches. 

That includes a disastrous streak of five straight Scottish Premiership defeats before Sunday's fixture, with Motherwell conceding 12 goals and scoring just three times during that run of results. 

Consequently, Motherwell have fallen to 10th in the standings with only eight points from nine league games, with their 16 goals conceded only better than St Mirren's (17 conceded) and Kilmarnock's (20 conceded) defensive records.

As the pressure continues building on Johansson, the manager will be desperate to lead his team to a streak-snapping victory on Sunday, although Motherwell will have to overcome a seven-game winless run against Hearts.

The Jambos will, however, head into Sunday's fixture short on confidence following back-to-back defeats, including a particularly humiliating 7-1 demolition against Celtic last weekend. 

That loss marked just their second defeat in 13 matches across all competitions, alongside a 2-1 defeat to Falkirk in mid-September, but Wouter Vrancken's side have now suffered two defeats in two matches going into the Scottish Premiership's 10th matchday. 

Hearts failed to bounce back during midweek as they lost 2-0 to Trabzonspor, with Mohamed Salah and Franculino Dju ensuring the Turkish side capitalised on their dominance throughout the 90 minutes. 

Vrancken will be eager to avoid suffering a third straight defeat when they take on Motherwell on Sunday, especially as defeat could allow Dundee to leapfrog them into third place. 

Hearts do travel to Fir Park as the worst performing team in the division away from their home ground, with Vrancken's side accumulating only four points from five fixtures on the road. 

The Jambos will, however, look to their prolific attack to lead them to just their second away win of the league season, with only Celtic (23) scoring more than Hearts' 20 goals scored this term.

Motherwell Scottish Premiership form:

Hearts Scottish Premiership form:

Hearts form (all competitions):

Team News

Motherwell are without the availability of Callum Hendry, Dylan Williams and Oscar Priestman due to injury issues. 

Sebastian Palmer-Houlden and Alex Lowry both scored in the eventual 3-2 defeat last weekend, but both should keep their spots in attack on Sunday, with Ibrahim Said and Tawanda Maswanhise also likely to start.

As for Hearts, Ageu, Blair Spittal, Craig Halkett, Tom Renaud, Christian Borchgrevink and Harry Milne are all unavailable due to ongoing injury problems. 

Hearts' front four of Josh McPake, Claudio Braga, Calvin Miller and Jamees Wilson have scored 12 goals combined in the league, and all four should start on Sunday.

Motherwell possible starting lineup:

Paulsen; Sparrow, O'Donnell, Moormann, Longelo; Fadinger, Hodge; Maswanhise, Lowry, Said; Palmer-Houlden

Hearts possible starting lineup:

Reus; Altena, Fagan-Walcott, McCart, Kingsley; McEntee, Mendy; Miller, Braga, McPake; Wilson

We say: Motherwell 1-3 Hearts

Hearts may be short on confidence after back-to-back defeats, but their prolific attack should have plenty of joy against Motherwell's vulnerable backline. 

Furthermore, despite the Jambos' struggles away from home, the Steelmen have lost all of their last five matches, and we are predicting another defeat for the home side on Sunday.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.