KEITH LASLEY ­believes Aberdeen will start as favourites for the second versus third battle with Motherwell at Fir Park today.

Dons' boss Derek McInnes has bolstered his side with the signing of Oldham Athletic's Adam Rooney, who scored 47 goals in two seasons for Inverness before his initial move south of the border to Birmingham.

The latest foray by McInnes into the marketplace as the Pittodrie gaffer boosts the Dons' European bid comes hot on the heels of the arrival of Swansea City stopper Alan Tate on loan.

With Aberdeen having already won twice at Fir Park in both the SPFL Premiership and the League Cup, the wily Las reckons you will get only short odds on Aberdeen this afternoon.

Yet at the same time the Steelmen skipper remains bullish about his side's hopes of backing up their Boxing Day triumph in the North East with a three-point haul that would see them supplant the Dons in second place.

The Motherwell captain said: "You look at Aberdeen being able to bring in Adam Rooney from Oldham and the type of goalscoring record he had up here with Inverness and earlier in the window they signed Alan Tate from Swansea, who has played in the English Premiership. We know we can't match that kind of financial power.

"So that really underlines how serious Aberdeen are about nailing down second place under Derek McInnes.

"But we still believe that if we find our best form we can match any side in the Premiership at Fir Park.

"On top of that the fact that Aberdeen have won twice on our patch this season is something we want to make amends for in front of our fans. With us out of both cups it is all about the league now and we have to make sure we produce a performance that reflects that."

Injury-wise today's game comes too soon for Simon Ramsden who is still recovering from a minor knee op.

Last time out at Celtic Park Stevie Hammell switched wings and Zaine Francis-Angol started at left-back to compensate for Rambo's absence.

But if Fraser Kerr passes muster again it is likely the former Birmingham player will slot in at right back slot and allow Hammell to resume his normal left-sided role.

UP TOP Well boss Stuart McCall has a two-way dilemma between on-form-again James McFadden and Henri Anier over who to partner top scorer John Sutton.

With Anier failing to start since his loan move from Viking Stavanger was made permanent, it could be that former Scotland talisman Faddy gets the nod.

Having shrugged off the bruising from a harsh Anthony Stokes' tackle at Parkhead in Well's 3-0 reverse at the hands of champions Celtic, Las admits he is relishing the chance to pull the strings in the Well midfield in the SPFL Premiership match of the day.

The Fir Park midfield general said: "I am just delighted I will be able to play today as I could very easily have been spending a long time on the sidelines. But this is also a great game for us to come back with after Celtic put an end to our six-game winning run.

"Yet although we lost at Parkhead, I felt we played as well against Celtic as we have played in the Premiership this season. So despite the loss we have stayed positive and if we can carry our performance level from Parkhead on into this afternoon's game we will give ourselves a chance.

"I think both sides will go for the win and with a bit of luck the fans will be in for a cracker."