Stranraer vs Motherwell Predictions, Betting Tips and Match Previews

Last Saturday saw Stranraer kick off their season in poor, but entertaining, fashion. They lost 5-3 away to Queen of the South in their first game of their League Cup group, and now they face Premiership side Motherwell. The hosts will be out to improve on a middling finish to last season, but they’ll want to build up some momentum in the cup first. Can they do that by pulling off a shock on Saturday, or are we going to see another comfortable victory for Motherwell in this encounter?

The Premiership side got off to the perfect start in midweek, as they racked up a 5-0 victory against Edinburgh City. That has put them on course for another cup run, after impressing in both competitions last term, alongside a seventh placed finish in the league. Well were able to make the Scottish Cup and League Cup final, losing to treble winners Celtic. However, those two runs have to be a huge boost for the Fir Park side, who will now be expecting a solid display in both competitions this season.

Motherwell have the perfect chance to kick off their season with back to back victories, as they head to an out of form Stranraer. The hosts were middling in League One last term, while their record in this competition is nothing special. Their loss to Queen of the South was no one-off, it was a seventh straight defeat in the League Cup. They lost every group game in 2017, and they’re on the same track here after a poor start.

To make matters worse, the hosts weren’t narrowly losing. The majority of those defeats were thrashings, with six of the seven seeing at least three goals scored. They shipped 23 goals across the seven losses, which points to this defence not being up to the standard required for a meeting with Motherwell. The Fir Park side scored plenty on their way to the final last season – three each past Ross County and Aberdeen – while they’re looking strong in attack after their first game of the campaign.

Stranraer’s defensive struggles aren’t limited to this competition either. They lost close to half of their home games in the third tier last season, with all but one of those seeing at least three goals. They conceded just shy of two goals per game at home in League One, so Motherwell should cause problems. The visitors have hit nine goals across three visits here without reply, so we’re backing them to rack up a 3-0 victory in this trip. Our main tip is a Motherwell win with over 2.5 goals scored, which looks well priced given the form of each side.