Incredibly this will be the fourth meeting between Celtic and Dundee United in 13 days. The two clubs were paired together in the quarter final of the Scottish Cup which went to a replay that the Hoops won 4-0. Between those two games they also met in the final of the League Cup and that too went the way of the Glasgow club who ran out 2-0 winners at Hampden Park last Sunday. Those victories leave Celtic with a distinct chance of their first treble in 14 years but they still have a battle on their hands in the race for the Premiership. They hold a three point lead over second placed Aberdeen but Celtic do have a game in hand. If they can record another win over United then it will be a big step towards claiming their fourth league title in a row.
Jackie McNamara would have hoped that this season would have yielded a trophy for his young and ambitious Dundee United side but that dream has gone and their focus is now finishing as high in the league as possible. The United supporters and their manager will be wondering if things would have been different in either of the cup competitions had they kept hold of star players Gary Mackay-Steven and Stuart Armstrong in January. Both players left for Celtic and although neither could play in those games, their departures certainly weakened their former club. The duo’s value to their old club is indicated by the fact that they have only won one game in eight since they left – and that was against League One side Stranraer.
Celtic can now recall the aforementioned duo now they have returned to league action. Both players will freshen things up as they look to bounce back from a loss in their last league game where they went down 1-0 to St Johnstone. That was their first domestic defeat in 16 games which is by far the most impressive form since Delia took over in the summer. With Aberdeen showing a similar level of consistency, the Scottish Premiership could well be in for a proper title race for the first time since the demise of Rangers in 2012.
Unsurprisingly for a team who have struggled to win games of late, Dundee United have found it difficult to score goals regularly. Their last six games have yielded only two goals, which is in stark contrast to the form they showed earlier in the season. They are still the second night scorers in the league which suggests the creativity they lost in the January transfer window has been a huge factor in their inability to score goals recently.
If you asked Dundee United which one of these games they would like to win two weeks ago, the league game would almost certainly have been their third choice. That’s not to say this is meaningless, though, as a rivalry has been created between the two clubs over the past three games. There has been six sending offs and plenty of other contentious talking points and that is unlikely to change on Saturday. Unfortunately for Dundee United the gap between the two clubs has looked to be getting bigger the more they play each other and I expect that to continue in this match. Celtic also have greater motivation as they try to stay clear of Aberdeen and I anticipate a comfortable home victory.
Celtic to score in both halves 4/5 @ Sportingbet
