Dundee United host Kilmarnock tomorrow (Sat, Nov 11) after beating Rangers 2-1 at the weekend to climb off the bottom of the SPL.
The win against Rangers was Craig Levein’s first match with the Arabs and he has already warned that the Killie match will give a better indication of just how well his side can do this season, following a string of poor results under former boss Craig Brewster.
Speaking after the win against Rangers, Levein said: ”We can’t allow this to be a one-off result. We will find out next week and in the weeks to come whether people are really prepared to roll their sleeves up.’
The Arabs have been boosted by the news that Trinidad and Tobago international Collin Samuel has recovered from a tight-hamstring quicker than expected. The 25-year-old former Falkirk man played for the first 45 minutes at the weekend but was taken off at half-time.
Striker Noel Hunt is available after serving his suspension while defenders David McCracken and Greg Cameron are named in the squad despite picking-up slight knocks.
One defender who will not feature is Lee Wilkie. Not only does the former Dundee man have an injury, but Levein has already announced that he wants the player, who is attempting to make his third comeback from cruciate ligament problems, to spend some time in the lower-leagues on-loan to improve his fitness.
Kilmarnock progressed to the semi-finals of the CIS Insurance Cup during the week with a 3-2 win over Motherwell at Rugby Park and are level on points with third-placed Hearts after a decent start to the season.
Two players received a boost earlier this week. Defender Gordon Greer and striker Steven Naismith were both named in Walter Smith’s Scotland B-squad to face Ireland in Dublin next week.
However, striker Gary Wales has not made the squad. The hit-man came on against Motherwell to make his first appearance since knee-surgery, but has suffered a recurrence of a hamstring problem and is expected to be out for 10 days.
Bookmakers are predicting a very close match, with Dundee United at 9/5, Killie favourites at 8/5 and the draw priced at 12/5.
Dundee United squad: Stillie, Mair, McCracken, Kenneth, Kalvenes, Conway, Kerr, Cameron, Robertson, Robson, Samuel, Goodwillie, McLean, Archibald, Duff, Easton, Burnett, Hunt.
Kilmarnock squad: Smith, G Murray, Greer, Wright, Hay, Leven, Fowler, Johnston, Invincibile, Nish, Naismith, Combe, Dodds, S Murray, Di Giacomo.
Venue: Tannadice
Date: November 11, 2006
Kick-off: 15.00
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