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Dundee United
Scottish Premiership | Gameweek 29
Feb 13, 2021 at 3pm UK
Tannadice Park
Livingston logo

Dundee Utd
3 - 0
Livingston

Sporle (1'), McNeil (35', 83')
Butcher (31'), Fuchs (67')
Pawlett (31')
FT(HT: 2-0)

Sibbald (34')
Fitzwater (61')

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

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

Dundee United welcome Scottish Premiership form side Livingston to Tannadice this Saturday afternoon for what should be an interesting encounter.

Livi's long unbeaten run finally came to an end in midweek, and it will be interesting to see how David Martindale's team react to the first real setback of the manager's reign.


Match preview

Dundee United boss Micky Mellon pictured on August 22, 2020© Reuters

Micky Mellon's Dundee United team have surrendered their sixth place in the table to St Mirren over the last month or so, and were also hammered 5-1 at home by the Paisley outfit in January.

That defeat was the first in a three-game run of losses that included a 2-0 reverse at Hibernian and a 2-1 home defeat to Motherwell.

Mellon's men brought that depressing run to an end with a 2-0 win at Ross County last Saturday, and the Tangerines manager was delighted with the return to form of United's Scotland international striker Lawrence Shankland.

Shankland scored his team's first goal against County just after the hour mark, finishing off a fine team move.

Mellon also praised Shankland's strike partner Marc McNulty for his part in ending an eight-game winless run for the Arabs.

The United manager is hoping now that his team can build on that victory and find the consistency that has eluded them in recent weeks.

The Terrors will need to tighten up at the back too, as they have conceded at least two goals in their last three home league matches.

Livingston's Marvin Bartley in action with Rangers forward Alfredo Morelos in August 2020© Reuters

Livingston now need to regroup after their 14-match unbeaten run finally came to an end in midweek when the Lions lost 2-1 at home to St Johnstone.

A top-half finish now looks achievable for the West Lothian outfit, with Martindale's team in fifth place in the table, seven points clear of sixth-placed St Mirren.

Given Aberdeen's recent struggles, a European place is not out of the question either, with Livi now five points behind the fourth-placed Dons.

The team have also managed to pick up some individual honours, with Martindale receiving the Premiership's Manager of the Month award for January after also winning it in December.

Livi forward Scott Robinson, out of contract at the club in the summer, picked up the Player of the Month award, and his manager is keen to reward his progress with an improved contract at the end of the season.

Whether Martindale can offer an improved deal is in big part dependent on how high Livi can finish in the league table, so Robinson will be keen to continue his fine form this weekend.

The Lions have won five of their last six away league games, and have also scored at least twice in five of those games.

Dundee United Scottish Premiership form: DDLLLW

Livingston Scottish Premiership form: DDWDWL
Livingston form (all competitions): DWWDWL


Team News

Tranmere Rovers manager Micky Mellon celebrates after the match on January 23, 2020© Reuters

Dundee United are still without Declan Glass, whose ACL injury is set to keep him sidelined for the rest of the season.

Logan Chalmers is also still out with an ankle problem, but Mellon's main selection dilemma for Saturday is what combination of strikers to pick.

McNulty and Shankland combined impressively in the Terrors' last outing, but Mellon still has further options in the shape of Nicky Clark and Louis Appere.

Gavin Reilly will be missing for Livingston after testing positive for COVID-19, and Keaghan Jacobs (foot) and Alan Lithgow (hip) are still absent but set to return to action soon.

Dundee United possible starting lineup:
Siegrist; Smith, Edwards, Reynolds, Robson; Pawlett, Butcher, Fuchs, Sporle; Shankland, McNulty

Livingston possible starting lineup:
Stryjek; Devlin, Ambrose, Taylor-Sinclair; Longridge; Bartley, Holt; Lawson, Pittman, Forrest; Robinson


SM words green background

We say: Dundee United 1-2 Livingston

Livi will bounce back from defeat with a narrow and hard-fought win at Tannadice over the Terrors.

The Lions have too much overall quality and confidence for United to cope with, and will head back to West Lothian on Saturday evening with all three points.


Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a double chance bet on a home win or an away win 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.Home/Away: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 Livingston win with a probability of 50.75%. A draw had a probability of 25.3% and a win for Dundee United had a probability of 23.9%.

The most likely scoreline for a Livingston win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.16%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (9.52%) and 1-2 (9.42%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.03%), while for a Dundee United win it was 1-0 (7.68%). The actual scoreline of 3-0 was predicted with a 1.3% likelihood.


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Game History

How you voted: Dundee Utd vs Livingston

Dundee United
50.0%
Draw
25.0%
Livingston
25.0%
20
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General view of Almondvale Stadium, home to Livingston, from 2005
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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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