Preview: Dundee United vs. Aberdeen - prediction, team news, lineups

The Scottish Premier League returns on Saturday following the international break and Dundee United will be hosting Aberdeen at Tannadice Park.

Both teams were defeated in their most recent outing, therefore they shall each be attempting to get back to winning ways immediately.

Match preview

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Dundee United were beginning to struggle before the international break, suffering a run of three games without a victory, which is something they will be keen to end now the SPL has returned.

With the busy Winter period now here, the club will be keen to build some momentum to climb up the table, with the Terrors currently fourth-placed.

They have the chance to potentially go level with Hearts, depending on other results, while they will also be wary of the fact Motherwell are just three points behind them.

Despite goals from Ryan Edwards and Nicky Clark, the Jam Tarts dominated Dundee United in their previous match, with Tam Courts witnessing his team concede five times.

The Terrors will also be aware of the fact the last time they played Aberdeen, they were defeated and failed to find the back of the net.

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That game was the season opener for both teams, with goals from Jonny Hayes and Christian Ramirez getting the Dons off to a perfect start to the campaign.

However, since that point, Aberdeen have only been able to win three other matches, which has seen them drop to seventh in the table, with just five points between them and the relegation zone.

Being dragged down to fight for their survival is something that Stephen Glass will be keen to avoid, but his team will need a stronger performance than their last outing to make that happen.

The Dons were defeated 2-0 by Motherwell after Kevin van Veen was able to score a brace, even though they dominated with 70% of the possession.

However, Aberdeen have been in stronger form as of late, winning two out of their previous four games and they shall be hoping to keep that going to kickstart the next round of fixtures.

Team News

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Dundee United do not have Liam Smith available because of his knee problem, while Marc McNulty was suffering from a hamstring injury before the international break.

However, Courts has had positive news from the medical team when it comes to both Charlie Mulgrew and Dylan Levitt.

Levitt has not featured for the Terrors since the end of October, while Mulgrew had to be brought off during their 5-2 defeat against Hearts before the international break, but they could be set to return on Saturday.

Mikey Devlin had been training before the international fixtures and he could now be involved as he returns from his ankle ligament injury.

Glass will also be hoping that Declan Gallagher and Calvin Ramsay can make their way back to the squad to place Scott Brown back in his natural position of midfield after covering in as a central defender.

Dundee United possible starting lineup:

Siegrist; McMann, Mulgrew, Edwards, Freeman; Levitt, Pawlett, Harkes, Fuchs, Niskanen; Clark

Aberdeen possible starting lineup:

Lewis; Bates, Gallagher, McCrorie; Brown, Ojo, Ferguson, Campbell, Hedges; Watkins, Ramirez

We say: Dundee United 1-1 Aberdeen

Both teams are hoping to get back to winning ways on Saturday but their desire to do so could see them cancel each other out and wind up drawing.

They have each had mixed form as of late and will be wanting to kickstart this period with a win, but with little to separate them, sharing the spoils could be how this ends.