Preview - Dundee United (h)

Our small squad is suffering without a few key players but it is worth noting that we were losing games even with when Terry had all his options available. Leitch is suspended for the second match of his ban while Lasley and McFadden both seem a long way off recovering from recent injuries.

The new away strip on show at Tannadice

Terry Butcher made a popular decision in introducing Francois DuBourdeau in place of Stevie Woods. This move looked to be wise for ninety minutes but Franky failed to pull off a heroic save to prevent Killie’s injury time winner. However, it would be harsh in the extreme if this was allowed to overshadow an otherwise good performance. Given the leniency shown to Woods, DuBourdeau deserves another chance to claim the number one spot.

The defence did look slightly better against Kilmarnock and the chance of drastic change is slim. The one possible switch might involve moving David Cowan to right back and allowing Ramsay to push forward. Stephen Pearson must improve from last week and the rest of the midfield will need to work hard at shutting down Charlie Miller. Miller has the talent to run the game but if we close him down, United will be missing one of their biggest threats.

Dundee United have been on a relatively good run of late. A dramatic win at Kilmarnock was followed by a respectable showing against Celtic. They won at Livingston in the cup on Wednesday night and their confidence will be high. However, despite recent form, we have witnessed first hand how bad United can be. We let them off the hook at Tannadice in August and we are perfectly capable of winning.

Of course, the fact that we are quite capable of beating them does not mean we will. Last week FPC predicted we would edge a narrow win. This time, it is hard to see any change of our fortune. Dundee United will take the spoils with a 0-2 success.