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Dundee United
Scottish Premiership | Gameweek 8
Oct 2, 2021 at 3pm UK
Tannadice Park
Ross County

Dundee Utd
1 - 0
Ross County

Niskanen (31')
Pawlett (34'), Siegrist (65')
FT(HT: 1-0)

Baldwin (77')

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

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Scottish Premiership clash between Dundee United and Ross County, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Ross County will continue to search for their maiden victory in the Scottish Premiership this season on Saturday when they travel to Tannadice Park.

Dundee United are currently undefeated in their last three games in the league, and sit in fifth place as they come off the back of drawing against Celtic.


Match preview

Dundee United's Calum Butcher in action with Hibernian's Kevin Nisbet in the Scottish FA Cup on May 8, 2021© Reuters

After finishing in ninth place during the 2020-21 campaign, Dundee United have made a much brighter start to this season, even though they lost their opening match of the season.

Since that point, Tam Courts has only seen his team beaten once in the league, which came against Hearts, with the squad building in confidence as they have become tough to defeat.

Even though they have only scored four goals in the Scottish Premiership, Dundee United have managed to climb to fifth, having gone three games undefeated heading into Saturday's test.

Ian Harkes could have solved his teams scoring problem, having found the back of the net in the previous two league matches, netting the winner in the Dundee derby, and then again last weekend against Celtic.

The Hoops took the lead against the Terrors early in the first half, but Harkes wasted no time in responding as he was able to fire his team back into the game just two minutes later.

While Dundee United were knocked out of the Scottish League Cup recently, their league form has been strong and that is something that they shall be aiming to continue.

Ross County come into this game on the back of a defeat to Motherwell, with an 80th-minute goal from Tony Watt giving the Steelmen a 2-1 victory.

This added more misery to Malky Mackay, with his team having been unable to win a single game in the Scottish Premiership this season and the club currently 11th.

Only Dundee are lower than them at the moment, with the Staggies having three points after picking up a trio of draws, one of which came during the first match of the season.

While the hosts have struggled for goals so far, this weekend could provide them with a perfect opportunity to change that as no team have conceded more than Ross County (15) in the opening seven games.

However, even though Mackay's squad have had problems early on, a victory has the potential to lift them to ninth place, which could provide a lot of confidence to the group.

Dundee United Scottish Premiership form:
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • D
  • W
  • D

Dundee United form (all competitions):
  • W
  • L
  • D
  • W
  • L
  • D

Ross County Scottish Premiership form:
  • L
  • L
  • D
  • L
  • D
  • L

Ross County form (all competitions):
  • L
  • L
  • D
  • L
  • D
  • L



Team News

Neither Charlie Mulgrew nor Marc McNulty were able to feature against Celtic on Sunday after both men suffered injuries in the Scottish League Cup tie prior to that match.

However, Courts had stated that their problems were not as serious as the club first thought, which means both men could be in contention this weekend.

One player that will not be available to the Terrors is Mark Connolly, as he departed Dundee United this week to join Dunfermline Athletic on a loan deal until January 2022.

Benji Siegrist made his return to the starting XI against Celtic, after being rested in the Scottish League Cup, and he is expected to play again.

Regan Charles-Cook found the back of the net against Motherwell at the weekend and could retain his place in the midfield on Saturday.

Mackay opted to stick with the back three at the weekend, and that appears to be the way that the team is setting up now, despite the defensive problems that they have been having.

Dundee United possible starting lineup:
Siegrist; McMann, Edwards, Smith, Freeman; Fuchs, Levitt, Harkes; Pawlett, Niskanen, Clark

Ross County possible starting lineup:
Maynard-Brewer; Baldwin, Lacovitti, Burroughs; Charles-Cook, Tillson, Paton, Watson, Callachan; Spittal, White


SM words green background

We say: Dundee United 1-0 Ross County

Dundee United have struggled for goals this season, which could give the visitors some positives heading into this game, but the form of the hosts has been impressive.

It is likely going to be another positive result for the Terrors on Saturday, with the Staggies simply struggling to get their campaign going at the moment.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a double chance bet on a home win or an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home/Away:data



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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 United win with a probability of 42.95%. A win for Ross County had a probability of 29.25% and a draw had a probability of 27.8%.

The most likely scoreline for a Dundee United win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.69%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.49%) and 2-0 (8.28%). The likeliest Ross County win was 0-1 (9.97%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.01%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 12.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Dundee United in this match.


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Game History

How you voted: Dundee Utd vs Ross County

Dundee United
76.7%
Draw
13.3%
Ross County
10.0%
30
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rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
Championship Group
1Celtic000080265478
2RangersRangers000072234975
3Hearts000046341262
4Kilmarnock00004334951
5St Mirren00003843-543
6Dundee00004454-1041
Relegation Group
1Hibernian00004451-739
2Motherwell00004651-537
3Aberdeen00003549-1435
4St Johnstone00002446-2231
5Ross County00003256-2430
6Livingston00002259-3718
 
First Phase
1Celtic33246380265478
2RangersRangers33243672234975
3Hearts33195946341262
4Kilmarnock33131284334951
5St Mirren33127143843-543
6Dundee331011124454-1041
7Hibernian33912124451-739
8Motherwell33813124651-537
9Aberdeen33811143549-1435
10St Johnstone33710162446-2231
11Ross County3379173256-2430
12Livingston3339212259-3718


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