Dundee will play against fierce rivals Dundee United in a quarter final match of the Scottish FA Cup at Kilmac Stadium at Dens Park on Monday evening.
The hosts will be keen to denied their rivals the bragging rights for the first time since August last year, however the visitors come into this encounter unbeaten in the last 8 encounters.
Last campaign, after seven years of waiting to return back to the Scottish Premiership, Dundee managed a terrific sixth position and so far this campaign is also quite good.
The Dee is currently sitting on 27 points from 23 league matches which include 7 victories, 6 draws and 10 losses making them only two points behind the top six in the English top flight standings.
However, Tony Docherty’s side remained in the strong position during the league for several moments throughout the term, yet the team faced certain problems again and suffering from a shocking run of one win in nine games across the season and during the period of August to October, and they got two draws and six losses.
The hosts have been far from bad in their subsequent fixtures, winning five, drawing three and losing five of the 13 that followed, plus entering this one, they were unbeaten in their latest three.
The onus is now on Dundee to avoid only beating their rivals for the first time since a 2-1 victory in August 2017, but to get beyond the fourth-round of this competition since the 2021/22 season.
Their visitors will be favourites going into this fourth round tie, although Dundee Utd has had a stunning start to the Scottish Premiership season topping the table at the moment.
Goodwin’s men have 37 points from 23 matches, and though the Tangerines have won 10 matches, drawn seven and lost only six, the actual gap puts them 10 points behind Rangers that are currently occupying the second position as per now and 10 points ahead of seventh-rated Goodwin.
When Dundee United lost to Hearts and Celtic earlier this month, they suffered back-to-back losses for the third time this season. However, they ended that run with a 1-0 victory over St Mirren last time out.
In addition to drawing confidence from their recent record of four victories and four draws in the last eight Dundee derbies, that will undoubtedly lift their spirits going into this one.
Docherty may decide to start a similar lineup today, with top scorer Simon Murray still leading the line, following an encouraging 3–3 draw with Celtic in their most recent game.
Due to a groin ailment that has kept him out of the lineup since October, Craig Sibbald is expected to stay out of play for the visitors, while David Babunski is also questionable for this match.
Sam Dalby, Glenn Middleton, and Luca Stephenson will likely continue to attack for Dundee United, who are expected to present a team akin to the one that defeated St Mirren in their most recent match.
