Dundee vs Motherwell - prediction, team news, lineups

Dundee FC welcome Motherwell to Dens Park on Saturday afternoon for round seven of the 2026-27 Scottish Premiership campaign.

In their latest outing, the Dark Blues were beaten 2-1 by last season's runners up Hearts at Tynecastle Park, while the Steelmen fell to a damning 4-0 home defeat against Aberdeen.

Playing in the Scottish Premiership for a fourth consecutive year having steered clear of the drop last season, finishing six points ahead of St. Mirren who occupied the relegation playoff place, Dundee will be extremely happy with their start to the latest league campaign.

Although they lost three of their opening six matches this season, Steven Pressley’s men have picked up crucial victories against both Aberdeen and fierce rivals Dundee United to have them sat just inside the division’s Championship Group with seven points.

Conceding just six goals in as many games so far in the league, a tally that can only be bettered by Celtic and Rangers, Dundee have benefited massively from their improved defensive stability, with Livingston and Kilmarnock the only sides to ship more than the Dark Blues’ 61 strikes last season.

While the club’s overall start to the season will be labelled as a success, Pressley will certainly be concerned with his side’s recent form though, having failed to win any of their previous three outings and dropping out of the Scottish League Cup in the first knockout round after a 3-0 defeat against Aberdeen at the Pittodrie Stadium.

However, facing a Motherwell outfit that they took all three points from when the sides last met, claiming a 2-1 victory at Dens Park in March, Dundee will be confident that they can overturn that barren run and resume their climb of the Scottish Premiership table.

Following three consecutive finishes in the division’s Relegation Group, Motherwell were much improved in the Scottish Premiership last season, concluding the campaign in fourth place and earning the chance to compete in a modern European competition for the first time ever.

After dispatching HB Torshavn and HJK in the first two UEFA Conference League qualifying rounds, the Steelmen fell to a damning 7-2 aggregate defeat against Freiburg in the decisive tie, but despite falling agonisingly short of creating club history, Alfred Johansson will be content with his side’s start to the season.

Having not lost any of their first four league fixtures, including an impressive 2-1 opening day victory away at Hibernian to kick off their campaign, Motherwell currently sit fifth in the table with eight points and look set to battle for Championship Group inclusion once again.

Much like their opposition, Motherwell are currently enduring a dismal period though and having suffered a thumping 4-0 defeat against Aberdeen on Tuesday evening, the Steelmen have now won just one of their previous seven matches, conceding an alarming 16 goals over that stretch.

Despite being on the end of a 2-1 loss when they faced the Dark Blues in March, Motherwell have a great chance to bounce back this weekend and end their lacklustre run against Dundee, who they have beaten in three of the previous five meetings between the sides.

Dundee will be without Slovenian midfielder Zan Besir for Saturday’s clash after the 25-year old was sent off just 14 minutes into the game against Hearts a fortnight ago.

On the injury front, the hosts are missing striker Ashley Hay as he continues his recovery from an MCL problem, while Simon Murray is expected to be out for the remainder of the season with a severe ACL rupture.

Joe Wright and Charlie Reilly will also both be sidelined this weekend, with the pair sustaining hamstring and foot injuries respectively in a recent behind closed doors match against Falkirk.

After being stretchered off just ten minutes into the Dark Blues’ most recent league fixture, it remains to be seen whether striker Joe Westley will feature against Motherwell, with the 21-year-old opting against surgery on a cheekbone fracture in favour of wearing a protective mask.

Motherwell will be without both Paul McGinn and Callum Henry for Saturday’s match as the duo remain sidelined with knee injuries, while 30-year-old defender Jordan McGhee is expected to narrowly miss out too as he nears a return from a hamstring injury sustained towards the end of last season.

While he is expected to be available at the end of the month, Australian midfielder Oscar Priestman is also unavailable for the Steelmen.

Having endured a heavy defeat in their previous fixture, it would be no surprise to see Johansson ringing the change this weekend with Sebastian Palmer-Houlden and Ibrahim Said amongst the names pushing to start.

Contributing to three goals so far this season, Zimbabwean striker Tawanda Maswanhise is undoubtedly Motherwell’s biggest goal threat and will be wanting to replicate his previous joy against Dundee, having netted a stoppage time winner against the Dark Blues at Dens Park in May 2025.

Goodman; Wright, Astley, O.Bevan, Odutayo; Finnigan, Hamilton; J.Bevan, Fink, Reilly; Wales

Paulsen; Sparrow, Girdwood-Reich, Moormann, Longelo; Fadinger, Hodge; Palmer-Houlden, Lowry; Maswanhise, Charles-Cook

With both sides experiencing extremely similar starts to their league campaigns and separated by just one point and place in the Scottish Premiership table, Saturday afternoon's match is certain to provide fans with a tight contest.

For that reason, we think both teams will have to wait until after the international break to end their winless runs and predict the spoils to be shared at Dens Park this weekend.

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

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