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Dundee United
Scottish Premiership | Gameweek 17
Dec 5, 2021 at 12pm UK
Tannadice Park
Celtic logo

Dundee Utd
0 - 3
Celtic


Butcher (61')
FT(HT: 0-2)
Rogic (19'), Turnbull (40'), Scales (81')
Starfelt (20')

Preview: Dundee United vs. Celtic - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Sunday's Scottish Premiership clash between Dundee United and Celtic, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Celtic will aim to keep putting the pressure on Rangers at the top of the Scottish Premiership this weekend when they travel to Tannadice Park.

Dundee United have the potential to climb up to third place with a victory on Sunday though, as they attempt to get back to winning ways after two games without one.


Match preview

Dundee United's Calum Butcher in action with Hibernian's Kevin Nisbet in the Scottish FA Cup on May 8, 2021© Reuters

Dundee United ended November in frustrating fashion, failing to win either of their last two games after a draw with Ross County and then a midweek loss against Motherwell.

The Terrors were beaten 1-0 on Tuesday, despite the fact that the Steelmen ended up finishing the game with 10 men, with Tony Watt's first-half goal proving to be enough.

Regardless of those results, Tam Courts has been able to guide his team into fourth place at the moment, which is a major improvement on the ninth position they finished in last season.

Even though they are the lowest-scoring team in the top half of the table, the Terrors will have the belief that they can take a result from the Hoops on Sunday.

The last time these two clubs met in the league, the points were shared following a 1-1 draw, with Ian Harkes managing to cancel out the goal that Liel Abada scored for Celtic.

Celtic's Kyogo Furuhashi pictured on September 30, 2021© Reuters

Ange Postecoglou guided his group to another victory in midweek when they hosted Hearts, with Kyogo Furuhashi scoring the only goal of the game to keep the pressure on Rangers.

At the moment, the Hoops are just four points behind the current league leaders and they shall be aiming for that gap to close at the weekend.

Celtic have already booked their place in the Scottish League Cup final, but the focus now remains on trying to regain the SPL as they aim to continue their recent run of form.

Postecoglou's team have not lost in their previous nine encounters in the league, with their last defeat taking place in September and that confidence should stand them in good stead at the weekend.

However, the Hoops will be missing the vast majority of their fans on Sunday as Dundee United have had to shut the Jerry Kerr Stand after damage from the recent Storm Arwen.

Dundee United Scottish Premiership form:
  • D
  • L
  • L
  • W
  • D
  • L

Dundee United form (all competitions):
  • D
  • L
  • L
  • W
  • D
  • L

Celtic Scottish Premiership form:
  • W
  • W
  • D
  • W
  • W
  • W

Celtic form (all competitions):
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • W
  • W



Team News

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou gestures on September 30, 2021© Reuters

Declan Glass was brought back into the Dundee United starting XI in midweek, but he was replaced by Nicky Clark and he could end up returning on Sunday.

Louis Appere will be set to lead the line for the Terrors at the weekend, with the pressure being on him to start adding some goals to their season.

Celtic were dealt a host of injury concerns during their recent victory against Hearts as three key players ended up having to be substituted with various problems.

Jota, Anthony Ralston and Stephen Welsh were all replaced during the midweek fixture which has caused doubts over their availability for this match.

Carl Starfelt also suffered an issue during the match as he had a niggle to his knee, but the fact he was able to finish the game could be a positive sign for him.

However, it was not all bad news for the Hoops as Tom Rogic returned to the starting XI and came through unscathed, meaning he will be an option once again.

Dundee United possible starting lineup:
Siegrist; McMann, Mulgrew, Edwards, Freeman; Clark, Niskanen, Hoti, Harkes, Pawlett; Appere

Celtic possible starting lineup:
Hart; Juranovic, Starfelt, Bitton, Montgomery; Rogic, McGregor, Turnbull; Forrest, Johnston, Furuhashi


SM words green background

We say: Dundee United 0-2 Celtic

Celtic have been on a great run as of late and their attacking qualities will likely prove to be too much for Dundee United on Sunday.

The Terrors have struggled for goals throughout the course of the season and that could prove to be a problem against a team with as much quality as the Hoops.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data



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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Celtic win with a probability of 59.02%. A draw had a probability of 21.5% and a win for Dundee United had a probability of 19.43%.

The most likely scoreline for a Celtic win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.95%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-1 (9.75%) and 0-2 (9.59%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.1%), while for a Dundee United win it was 2-1 (5.24%). The actual scoreline of 0-3 was predicted with a 6.3% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Celtic would win this match.


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Game History

How you voted: Dundee Utd vs Celtic

Dundee United
13.2%
Draw
15.8%
Celtic
71.1%
38
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Celtic coach Ange Postecoglou pictured on August 12, 2021
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rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Celtic1110103132831
2Aberdeen11101024101431
3RangersRangers11713168822
4Dundee UnitedDundee Utd125431813519
5Motherwell116141514119
6St Mirren134361722-515
7Dundee123361824-612
8Kilmarnock123361525-1012
9Ross County132651021-1112
10St Johnstone133191627-1110
11Hearts132381420-69
12Hibernian121561118-78


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