'It's hard to envisage Hearts replicating their Betfred Cup performance' - Journalists' predictions for Motherwell v Hearts

Ryotaro Meshino and Liam Donnelly go shoulder to shoulder in a previous meeting between Hearts and Motherwell

Anthony Brown

Hearts won at Fir Park in the Betfred Cup in August with one of their best performances of the season, but it is hard to envisage them reaching such a level in their current beleaguered, rudderless state.

It would be a surprise if they were able to muster enough resistance to avoid defeat. Prediction: Motherwell win

Neil McGlade

It was another uninspiring performance from Hearts against Livingston in midweek. In truth, the Gorgie side were lucky to take anything from a match that saw the visitors on top for more than an hour.

What is it going to take to drag Hearts out of this mess? Aside from the appointment of a new manager, these players need an injection of confidence and guidance.

They haven’t become a bad group overnight and it may just take a freak result to turn things in their favour. But that’s unlikely to happen at Fir Park. Prediction: Motherwell win.

Patrick McPartlin

Predicting a Motherwell win in this match is more about the well-oiled machine that Stephen Robinson has assembled at Fir Park rather than the underperforming Hearts side. While they can be a bit hit and miss on the road, on home turf the Steelmen are a force to be reckoned with.

They've only lost three at home all season and have scored 16 goals in the process. Hearts, on the other hand, have only won one on the road and have scored five goals - two of them in that one victory.

Football's a funny old game and sometimes the unthinkable happens - but I can't see it happening here, even if three or four of the Motherwell first team are laid low with a nasty bug. Prediction: Motherwell win

Joel Sked

To be quite honest, I am running out of things to say about Hearts.

They have struggled recently, especially away from home, and I don't expect that to change at Motherwell - even in the face of the Steelmen potentially being without a number of players due to illness. Prediction: Home win.