contrasting

The only contest between these sides this season ended goalless in August.

Motherwell had 66% possession that day but lacked a cutting edge, injury issues meaning they played without a centre-forward.

St Mirren had the better of the chances, but the stalemate means they have won only two of their past 16 league meetings with the Lanarkshire club and are winless in six.

Motherwell may be four points better off in the Premiership and in better form but this feels like a 50-50 affair.

The Fir Park club have won four of their past six matches, including their quarter-final success at Aberdeen.

Across 10 league games, they have scored double the goals of St Mirren (16 to eight) but conceded one more than the Paisley side (13 to 12).

In left-back Emmanuel Longelo and midfielder Elliot Watt, both signed in the summer, Motherwell boast two players who are among the standouts in the Premiership so far this term.

St Mirren, meanwhile, have won once in five matches since dumping out Kilmarnock on penalties in the last eight.

But an impressive showing against league leaders Hearts in midweek showcased all the redeeming features in Robinson’s side, who posed a serious threat from set-plays.

“Really contrasting styles between both sides,” BBC Scotland pundit Neil McCann said on Sportscene.

“If Motherwell get a grip of the game, it’ll be difficult for St Mirren. You could see St Mirren going old school and making Motherwell defend direct balls like they did against Hearts.

“I lean towards Motherwell because of the big pitch at Hampden. I make them favourites. But the way Robinson gets his teams to play, he will come up with a game plan to nullify space.”

In contrast, Kartal appears to be thriving at Wimbledon.

The 23-year-old has enjoyed an impressive rise in the last 12 months and beat 20th seed Jelena Ostapenko in the first round – her third win against a top-20 opponent this year. She followed that by powering past Bulgaria’s Viktoriya Tomova 6-2 6-2 to reach the third round.

Kartal is a recognisable presence on the court with her tattoos and distinctly retro tennis kit, and appears to be enjoying playing on the big stage.

Her path to professional tennis is not a well-trodden one, having had to largely self-fund her career, something she credits with helping her to mature very quickly.

“When I was growing up, I kind of did quite a lot of tournaments on my own just because I couldn’t afford to pay a coach week in and week out,” said Kartal, who has climbed around 250 places in the rankings over the past year to 51st.

“I think it was great. It helped me develop as a teenager, grow up super fast, made me much more mature, hold myself accountable to a lot of things.”

Next up for Kartal is a match against French qualifier Diane Parry, who beat 12th seed and world number 15 Diana Shnaider to reach the third round.

The British number three is determined to keep her good form going as she looks to reach the fourth round for the first time.

“I think having a home Slam, I think that’s one arena I really want to perform well in front of the people that mean the most to me, friends and family and everyone,” added Kartal.

“Also, it’s a surface that doesn’t really come naturally to me. I have to really think and adapt my game style, which I think is also going to help me develop beyond this tournament as well.”