Preview: Livingston vs. Motherwell - prediction, team news, lineups

The hosts, meanwhile, would move above their opponents in the table with one match of the season remaining by defeating them.

Match preview

Indeed, having finished seventh last season, David Martindale will be keen to ensure his side's standards do not drop by falling one place in the Scottish Premiership rankings this time around.

Either way, though, Livingston are enjoying one of their most successful eras, with five consecutive finishes in the top 10 of Scotland's top division representing a remarkable achievement for a club that has fallen into the third tier on two separate occasions since 2009.

The Lions' only disappointments across those recent campaigns may lie in their failure to qualify for Europe for only the second time in their entire history, with their 1-0 defeat to St Johnstone in the Scottish League Cup final two seasons ago a particularly galling moment.

Having returned to winning ways with a 2-1 victory against rock-bottom Dundee United at the weekend, Martindale and his players will be confident of dispatching Motherwell in midweek, thereby heading into their final match against St. Johnstone with their destiny in their own hands in terms of securing seventh place.

However, Motherwell are enjoying themselves since the table was split into two halves three matchdays ago, with Stuart Kettlewell's side winning all three of their games to leapfrog Livingston into seventh ahead of their meeting this week.

Indeed, after falling short of their standards for considerable periods throughout earlier parts of the season, Kettlewell has worked wonders since being appointed in February, with the 38-year-old winning eight of his 12 league games in charge.

Kilmarnock, St. Johnstone and Ross County have all been dispatched without The Steelmen even conceding a single goal in recent weeks, with the fact that only Celtic, Rangers and Hearts also boast a positive goal difference in the entire division suggesting that Motherwell can consider themselves unfortunate to be in the bottom half of the table, particularly on current form.

As such, they will be keen to prove that they are comfortably the best of the rest by moving four points clear of Livingston with a win against them on Wednesday, with Kettlwell hoping his side's newly-found defensive steel can continue into the next campaign.

Livingston Scottish Premiership form:

L

W

L

L

L

W

Motherwell Scottish Premiership form:

W

L

D

W

W

W

Team News

Livingston appear to be in the enviable position of having a fully fit squad at their disposal, meaning Martindale may select the same starting XI that returned to winning ways at the weekend.

Bruce Anderson and James Penrice will be tasked with combining in attack once again after both finding the back of the net on Saturday, with former Luton Town midfielder Andrew Shinnie holding down the hosts' midfield area.

Motherwell, meanwhile, appear likely to travel without Riku Danzaki, Joseph Efford and Nathan McGinley due to injury.

Kevin van Veen will almost certainly lead the visitors' offensive line once again, and he should be full of confidence after bagging a 99th-minute winner from the penalty spot against Ross County at the weekend.

Livingston possible starting lineup:

George; Devlin, De Luas, Boyes, Montano; Kelly, Shinnie; Penrice, Kelly, Nouble; Anderson

Motherwell possible starting lineup:

Kelly; McGinn, Butcher, Casey; O'Donnell, Paton, Goss, Furlong; Spittal; Mandron, Van Veen

We say: Livingston 1-2 Motherwell

Both teams will be keen to finish as the best of the rest in the bottom half of the Scottish Premiership table this season, but ultimately there is little pressure on either team's collective shoulders having secured their survival several weeks ago.

Motherwell have been a hugely improved outfit since appointing Kettlewell as their manager three months ago, and we expect them to secure seventh spot with yet anohter victory on Wednesday.

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