Dundee United will be attempting to match their superb recent win at Rangers when taking on the SPL leaders at Tannadice on Tuesday evening. The Tangerines recently completed a tremendous 3-2 victory at Ibrox and could move within six points of third-placed Hearts if they can serve up a repeat performance. Rangers are back on top of the table after taking advantage of Celtic’s weekend league inactivity by overcoming St Mirren 2-1 in front of their own supporters.
Vital Quotes:
“It was a tough game at Ibrox and we got the break – it could quite easily have gone the other way when the ball hit the bar,” Dundee United manager Peter Houston told BBC Scotland. “Rangers were desperate to win the match and left themselves open and we counter-attacked at the last minute. I’m sure if it’s 2-2 in the last minute, they’ll not put quite as many men up as for a corner. It was down to us, not so much Rangers stepping off the pace.”
“Dundee United have beaten us at Ibrox recently, so we don’t need to be reminded of the difficulties of going to Tannadice. It will be an extremely difficult match for us,” Rangers boss Walter Smith told BBC Scotland. “It’s not so much about revenge – it’s just getting back to a situation where we hope to make up for that defeat. It was a costly one for us in the sense that we could have gone to the top of the league in our own right and managed to stay there with the results we have had since that game.”
Dundee United Team News:
Full-back Paul Dixon serves the first of a two-game ban while fellow defenders Keith Watson and Darren Dods remain sidelined.
Dundee United (from): Pernis, Dillon, Kenneth, Van der Meulen, Severin, Douglas, Buaben, Gomis, Conway, D. Robertson, S. Robertson, Swanson, Daly, Shala, Russell, Goodwillie, Dow, Hill, Banks
Player to watch: Johnny Russell
In-form striker who has scored in each of the last three games.
Rangers Team News:
Rangers welcome back defender Madjid Bougherra and winger Steven Naismith is similarly available. But midfielder Lee McCulloch is still ruled out after recent knee surgery.
Rangers (from): McGregor, Whittaker, Papac, Foster, Weir, Davis, Edu, Ness, Hutton, Lafferty, Jelavic, Diouf, Wylde, Healy, Alexander, Fleck, Bougherra, Naismith
Player to watch: Steven Whittaker
Busy midfielder on target from the penalty spot against St Mirren at the weekend.
Match Facts & Stats
Rangers returned to the top of the SPL at the weekend with a narrow 2-1 home victory over lowly St Mirren at Ibrox. Dundee United beat St Johnstone 2-0 at Tannadice last time out and also boast a superb recent 3-2 win at Rangers earlier this month.
Next Fixtures:
Dundee United – Kilmarnock (H); Rangers – Celtic (H)
