Dundee will put their struggles in the Scottish Premiership to one side on Monday evening when they square off against Peterhead in the Scottish FA Cup fifth round.
While Peterhead currently sit in the lower embers of the third tier, the Blue Toon will fancy their chances of causing an upset at Balmoor.
Match preview
Having ended 2021 with five successive defeats, Dundee supporters would have been pessimistic about their side's ambitions for the second half of the season.
However, while they remain in trouble in the top flight, the Dee have only lost two of their last six matches in all competitions.
James McPake witnessed his team produce one of their best performances of the season in midweek as they posted a 2-1 victory at Hearts, coming from behind to beat their third-placed opponents at Tynecastle.
It was a necessary response after previously losing to relegation rivals Ross County, and they now sit two points ahead of bottom-of-the-table St Johnstone.
As far as this competition is concerned, Dundee recorded a 1-0 win at Dumbarton in the fourth round, relying on a second-half penalty from Leigh Griffiths.
Peterhead have been equally poor in Scottish League One this season, currently finding themselves down in eighth position and only ahead of second-bottom Dumbarton by a point.
Manager Jim McNally, a former Dundee player, has witnessed his team fail to win in five league matches, with just one goal being scored during that period.
Peterhead also required penalties to reach this stage of the tournament, withstanding a strong performance from fifth-tier East Kilbride before prevailing on penalties.
The home side are bidding to reach the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup for the first time since 2000-01.
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Team News
McPake will consider handing an immediate debut to Zeno Ibsen Rossi, who has joined Dundee on loan from Bournemouth.
Veteran Niall McGinn is an option, depending on whether McPake switches from a 3-5-2, but Leicester City loanee Vontae Daley-Campbell misses out through suspension.
Charlie Adam could drop down to the substitutes' bench for this fixture, allowing Max Anderson to return in midfield.
Scott Brown may be drafted back into the Peterhead midfield, potentially as a replacement for Flynn Duffy.
David Wilson will be assessed after coming off early in the second half against Alloa Athletic, with youngster Owen Cairns on standby to replace him.
Peterhead possible starting lineup:
Long; Wilson, Ja. Brown, McDonald, Quitongo; McCarthy, Jo. Brown, S. Brown; Duncan, McLean, Payne
Dundee possible starting lineup:
Lawlor; Rossi, Fontaine, Sweeney; McMullan, Anderson, Byrne, Mulligan, Kerr; Mullen, Rudden
We say: Peterhead 1-2 Dundee
Despite their lowly league position in League One, Peterhead will relish the chance to play without freedom and cause an upset. However, we have to back the visitors to prevail on Monday night, albeit by a narrow margin.
Darren Plant
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Dundee win with a probability of 60.67%. A draw had a probability of 20.9% and a win for Peterhead had a probability of 18.4%.
The most likely scoreline for a Dundee win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.95%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (9.7%) and 0-1 (9.54%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.79%), while for a Peterhead win it was 2-1 (5.02%). The actual scoreline of 0-3 was predicted with a 6.6% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Dundee would win this match.
