With five clubs representing Scotland in Europe during the week, the league schedule is looking rather bare this weekend. There is one game, however, and what a game it could shaping up to be! Dundee United host bitter rivals Dundee in this season’s first instalment of the Dundee Derby. Following on from disappointing losses for both teams in last week’s League Cup matches, the teams will be looking to put those results behind them and get one up on their rivals.
United come into this following two consecutive 4-0 losses against Hearts and Celtic. Against Hearts, they were lacklustre; lazy in defence and just could not create chances on the attacking front. Whilst they were better against Celtic, hitting the woodwork five times and were very unlucky not to score, their defence was again slow and lazy, as well as defending poorly from set-pieces.
Having drawn with Rangers in the opening league game and arguably being the better side, these results came as a bit of a surprise, as their performance against Rangers was a classy one. They defended well whilst creating good chances, with Jesse Randall missing a sitter that would have surely won them the game. Yet, in the Hearts game especially, it was almost a different team that we saw, the performances a world away from the one on display on opening night.
Dundee sit on three points after two games, having played out two tough fixtures against Celtic and Aberdeen. Against Celtic, they fell short, losing 1-0, they did, however, put on a great performance and came close to scoring on multiple occasions as they gave the champions a run for their money. Their league match against Aberdeen showcased the talent they have, with Joe Bevan having an incredible game, providing a goal and an assist in a very comfortable 2-0 win over The Dons.
In the rematch against Aberdeen just a week later, however, they lost 3-0 as Dundee were ultimately outclassed on the day. Their defending in this game was poor compared to their efforts in the previous matchup and on the attacking front, they were wasteful with opportunities they were presented with, not really troubling Aberdeen’s Marius Muller. Simon Murray also went down this game and had to be stretchered off, later being diagnosed with an ACL injury. He will be a sore miss for Stephen Pressley, who will struggle to find a replacement for his captain.
The record in the last ten games between the two is very even. United have three wins, equal with Dundee’s three, whilst there have been four draws between the teams. Dundee won the first fixture at Tannadice last season, beating their rivals 1-0, before United reigned victorious in the second Tannadice fixture after the split.
It has been a mixed start for both teams, but you can argue the Dens Park side have had the better start. United have looked very poor in two of their games against Hearts and Celtic, especially defensively. For Dundee, their loss against Aberdeen was very poor; however, they had dismantled them the week before, winning 2-0, whilst their loss to Celtic showed resilience and they could well have come away from that game with at least a point. Based on what we have seen from both teams, I would argue that Dundee have looked the better side to start the season. This will be their first full game without Simon Murray, meaning players such as Joe Westley and Joe Bevan will have to step up for their team.
The prediction: Dundee United 1 – 2 Dundee.
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