High-flying Dundee United will look to continue their remarkable first half of the 2024-25 Scottish Premiership season when they take on Hearts at Tannadice Park on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts are third in the table with 34 points from their 20 games played, while the visitors are 11th in the standings with 20 points from 21 fixtures.
Match preview
Dundee Utd suffered a surprise relegation from the Scottish Premiership in 2022-23, falling from a fourth-placed finish in the prior year, but managed to bounce straight back into the top flight with a title winning 2023-24 campaign in the Scottish Championship.
Jim Goodwin, in charge since March 2023, has now led the side to a fantastic start to life back in the top flight, with Dundee United currently sitting third in the table with 34 points from 20 matches.
The Tangerines have won nine, drawn seven and lost just four of their 20 games to date, including all of their last three, leaving them just five points behind second-placed Rangers and a massive nine points ahead of seventh-placed Hibernian.
Dundee United's most recent match was a particularly meaningful victory, with them coming from behind to defeat rivals Dundee 2-1 thanks to an 88th-minute winner from Sam Dalby, his 10th goal in the league this term.
They will be heading into this one aiming to continue their winning run and further strengthen their place in the European places, with an aim of booking their place in a European competition for the first time since competing in the Cup Winners' Cup in 1994-95.
Their opponents, Hearts, will be buoyed from their own recent victory against Motherwell, a performance that was capped with a remarkable late save from Craig Gordon, marking just their fifth win of the campaign.
Neil Critchley will be hoping his side can build on that victory as they aim to move away from the ongoing relegation battle, with the Jambos having endured a miserable first half of the season.
The Jambos have won five, drawn five and lost 11 of their first 21 league fixtures, leaving them with 20 points, two points behind 10th-placed Ross County and five above bottom of the league St Johnstone.
Hearts will be hoping their strong recent record against Dundee Utd can help them get over the line with a crucial three points here, with the Jambos having won three of the last five meetings.
Team News
The hosts are set to be without the services of both Craig Sibbald (groin) and Louis Moult (shoulder) for this match due to ongoing injury issues, though both should return later this month.
Elsewhere, Dalby is expected to remain in attack with the striker enjoying a superb run of form, having netted all 10 of his league goals in the last 13 appearances.
As for Hearts, Calem Nieuwenhof (hamstring), Frankie Kent (muscle), Gerald Taylor (knee), Stephen Kingsley (hamstring) are all expected to miss out due to injury.
After winning against Motherwell in their last outing, Critchley could decide to field the same starting team in this game, with 17-year-old striker James Wilson likely to lead the line.
Dundee United possible starting lineup:
Walton; Strain, Adegboyega, Holt, Ferry; Docherty, Sevelj; Middleton, Stephenson, Trapanovski; Dalby
Hearts possible starting lineup:
Gordon; Forrester, Halkett, Rowles, Penrice; Devlin, Grant; Drammeh, Boyce, Spittal; Wilson
We say: Dundee United 2-1 Hearts
The hosts are enjoying a strong run of results in recent matches, with three successive wins heading into this one, and we expect their fantastic season to continue with another win here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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