Dundee United

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• Celtic are unbeaten in 50 home games against Dundee United in all competitions (W38 D12) since a 1-0 league defeat in December 1992. It's just their second ever run of 50+ home matches unbeaten against any club, along with a 64-match spell against Kilmarnock from 1957 to 2011.

• After their 2-1 win in December, Dundee United could secure back-to-back league victories over Celtic for the first time since January 1990.

• After winning all five of their Premiership games under Martin O'Neill this season, Celtic lost four of six league matches under Wilfried Nancy (W2), with O'Neill now returning to the club.

• During his first spell in charge, the Northern Irishman won all 19 of his games against Dundee United in all competitions – the most any Celtic manager has faced a single opponent without ever failing to win.

• Dundee United have gained a league-high 10 points from losing positions in the Premiership this season, coming from behind to beat Celtic 2-1 in December. Indeed, Celtic have lost two of the past four league games in which they have led at any stage (W2), as many as their previous 220 when leading (W201 D17 L2).

• Celtic are looking to avoid losing three successive league matches for the first time since October 1994. After their 3-1 defeat to Rangers, the Hoops could also lose their opening two league games of a calendar year for the first time since 1994.

We asked for your views on what business Dundee United need to do in the January window.

Here's what some of you said:

Alan: Obviously another goalkeeper but more importantly go back to a back four with a couple of faster defenders.

Stuart: We desperately need a goalkeeper and another striker option. Possibly a creative midfielder. Most of all we need Jim Goodwin to stop changing the team every week and get a more settled team.

Brian: A couple of full-backs so we can use a back four would be perfect. Goodwin's three at the back has been a disaster. A classy midfielder has to be a priority.

Kieran: In all fairness the spine of the team needs replacing. Another keeper, Craig Gordon? A centre-half, a centre mid - ideally similar to Pan Camara but with more creativity - and striker is a must. A left-back/wing-back to provide cover for Will Ferry and another pacey winger should do the trick. I don't think that is too much to ask. Maybe Mark Ogren's cheque book says otherwise.

Ken: We need to strengthen the spine. Goalie, centre-half, number nine striker. Jack Walton, Kerr Smith and Sam Dalby would be great.

Julian: More than anything we need a striker who'll score eight goals between now and May. Amar Fatah and Zac Sapsford are great wingers, on occasion they are world class, but so many chances are missed. I'd even go for a veteran who knows the league well like Stevie May. A lot of fans are calling out for a keeper but I think Dave Richards is a more than capable number one, so for me it's all about a striker.

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St Mirren have completed the "fantastic signing" of midfielder Allan Campbell on a deal until the end of the season.

The 27-year-old former Scotland cap has been without a club since leaving Dundee United last summer.

Campbell began his career with Motherwell - where he worked under current Saints boss Stephen Robinson - and made 160 appearances before joining Luton Town in 2021.

He helped the Hatters win promotion to the Premier League in 2023 before falling out favour and spending time on loan at Millwall and Charlton.

Manager Robinson said: "I've worked with Allan before. He's gone down to England and done very well. He's the right type of character and he's got a lot of quality.

"He hasn't played football for a little while. But on a short-term contract, we think he's a fantastic signing and will be very good around the place as well. Allan's someone with immense talent that could influence games.

"With our numbers being short in midfield, he seemed like the perfect solution and we're confident that he'll be a real asset towards the end of the season."

Campbell, whose sole Scotland appearance came in the 4-1 Nations League win over Armenia in June 2022, is relishing the reunion with Robinson at the League Cup winners.

"He was the one who gave me my real start in professional football, played me, backed me, and developed me a lot as a player," he said.

"When the opportunity came up to come back and play football under him, I thought it was a great opportunity.

"I can't wait to get back playing. I keep myself well. That's one thing I pride myself on, working hard off the pitch, so I've been keeping busy, making sure that I'm ready for when I get the chance and hopefully that'll be soon."

Where do you think Dundee United need to strengthen this month to boost their top-six hopes?

The transfer window has been open a week and the only business at Tannadice has been the departure of goalkeeper Yevhen Kucherenko to Greek side Panetolikos.

Is another keeper a priority? Which other positions need strengthened? And who would you like brought in?

Tell us here.

Paul McNicoll
Fan writer

Bragging rights in Dundee have once again drifted over to the blue half of the city and unfortunately they're not due back until at least 14 March.

Yes, United did win at Dens in August, but for the third time in four derbies it's the Dees who get to do the gloating. Them's the rules and sadly we just have to take it on the chin.

So where did it all go wrong on Saturday? In short, pretty much everywhere. United didn't play well.

Whether it was the system, the formation, the tactics, the manager, the personnel, or a cocktail of all five, the end result was the same. A defeat.

Some will argue a draw might have been fair, but let's be honest, as painful as it is, Dundee deserved it. They could easily have been three up by half-time if their finishing hadn't been so charitable.

That the breakthrough came with the last kick of the first half felt more like delayed inevitability than bad luck.

Consistency continues to be United's biggest issue, and with the team changing more often than the Scottish weather, it's not hard to see why. Stability is hard to find when you're never quite sure who's starting from one week to the next. Regardless of previous results.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'd love to see United focus a bit more on how to hurt the opposition rather than worrying about how not to be hurt ourselves. Football, after all, does still involve scoring goals.

There have been highs this season, no doubt, but overall it's been a little underwhelming.

And letting your neighbours come into your own house, help themselves to all three points and then leave you with nothing but banter to endure? That's never good for morale, or the group chat.

Paul McNicoll can be found at the Dode Fox Podcast, external

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Goakeeper Yevhen Kucherenko has left Dundee United to join Greek Super League side Panetolikos FC on a permanent transfer.

The Ukrainian made 17 appearances for United but has not played since late November.

The 26-year-old started the campaign as Jim Goodwin's first-choice option, however he came out of the team following a calamitous display in a 3-0 defeat to Falkirk at Tannadice.

"Everyone at Dundee United extends their thanks to Yevhen for his services, as we wish him the very best of luck in his future endeavours," the club say.

Watch highlights as Dundee edge out their city rivals to claim a derby victory at Tannadice.

Available in UK only

We asked for your thoughts after Dundee United slumped to a derby defeat at home to their city rivals.

Here's a taste of what you had to say:

Ross: Shocking. Across the park, shocking. Pan Camara the only positive. Good players had a bad day. Bad players repeated the same mistakes. Jim Goodwin, raise your hands. Terrible team choice, and let's not ever, ever use the Bert Esselink, Krisztian Keresztes, Iurie Iovu back three again. This was an ordinary Dundee side but we managed to be worse than ordinary. For the first time this season I'm just angry.

Jim: Disappointing derby result after a good result against Livingston. After good attacking show against them our manager dropped four players, a case of over thinking things again and spoiled any chance of continuity.

Dennis: Bullied, beaten at home by Dundee and now just three points ahead of them (a team who were favourites for the drop and are utter mince). Behind newly-promoted Falkirk and on equal footing with Aberdeen, whose fans are calling for the manager's head. That's not a good season. Fact is, at least half of the summer signings are not good enough and need to be moved on, so we can make space on the wage bill for other punts. Onwards to Celtic Park, no wins since 1992 - can we do it?

Ally: Yet another abject performance from the start and failure to beat a team we should be beating at home. Four wins in 21 is shocking, I'm slowly losing faith in Goodwin. How many times can underperformers continue to play? But those who play well find themselves dropped the following week? It's getting unacceptable now, far too many games we've simply not been good enough.

Ashley Hay's cool finish earned Dundee a hard-fought derby win over Dundee United at Tannadice in the Scottish Premiership.

Read the match report

Have your say

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Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin tells BBC Scotland: "It's not the result we were hoping for. We get undone by a mistake on our part - it's a situation we have to deal with a lot better.

"We should be coming in at half-time frustrated with the performance, unfortunately we concede with 10 seconds left of the first period.

"Second half, we were by far the better team, but the big criticism is we didn't do enough with the possession.

"Credit to Dundee, they defended their box well and McCracken makes a magnificent save.

"Definitely [we deserved something]. The magnitude of a game like this, our supporters want bragging rights after the game and that's not the case.

"We'll dust ourselves down and go again next weekend."

Cardiff City's Jak Alnwick is on a list of goalkeeping options Dundee United are looking at, but Tannadice manager Jim Goodwin insists he is happy with his current options while admitting his admiration for the 32-year-old after they worked together at St Mirren. (Daily Record), external

Read Saturday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin is likely to be selecting from an unchanged squad.

Pan Camara (hamstring), Ross Graham, Ryan Strain (both groin) and Isaac Pappoe (knee) are still out.

Dundee could hand a debut to new signing Joe Bevan if his paperwork is finalised in time.

Skipper Simon Murray remains suspended, Cameron Congreve is a doubt and Joe Westley (ankle) is out but Finlay Robertson and Clark Robertson return after injury.

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Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin wants his side to step up their pursuit of a European spot when they host city rivals Dundee on Saturday.

United returned to the top six of the Scottish Premiership with victory at Livingston on Tuesday, making it five matches without defeat.

They reached Conference League qualifying after finishing fourth last season, but were knocked out by Rapid Vienna over two legs in August.

"There is a bit of confidence and a bit of momentum," Goodwin said before the second derby of the season. "We've always been quite relaxed about the situation because we know the quality that's in this group of players and we know what we're capable of.

"And we knew it was only a matter of time before we were able to get the wins that we need. That win on Tuesday has put us back into the top six, which is where we want to be. And if we can follow that up now with another good result tomorrow, that would set us up nicely in 2026.

"I think we're on track in terms of where we want to be. The top six is clearly what the ambition is this season. And when that split comes around, to be in the mix for those European places is what we all want.

"We got a little taste for it in the summer and we thoroughly enjoyed it. We had some good trips away and the supporters got some great memories from those days. Hopefully we can build on the recent good results that we've had in the last fortnight and really kick on from here."

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• Dundee United have won two of their past three Scottish Premiership meetings with Dundee (L1), as many as their previous 10 prior (W2 D5 L3). The Tangeries could win back-to-back Dundee derbies in the competition for the first time since January 2015.

• Dundee won their last away league visit to Dundee United 4-2 in March last season, but haven't won successive away Dundee derbies in the top flight since May 1999.

• Dundee United have won their first game in January in both of their past two years as a Premiership side, including a 2-1 win over rivals Dundee in 2025 (also 1-0 v St Johnstone in 2023).

• Dundee have lost their first January game of a calendar year in the Premiership in each of their past three such matches, last winning their January year opener in the competition in 2019 (2-1 v Hearts).

• Dundee have won their past two league games, last winning three in a row in the top flight in October/November 2014.

Yelimay Semey winger Galymzhan Kenzhebek, 22, had been linked with Dundee United but is reportedly moving to Russia. (Courier - subscription required), external

Read Friday's Scottish gossip

Jim Goodwin says there is "a lot to be optimistic about" at Dundee United as they head into the new year having risen back into the top six with a five-game unbeaten run.

Boss Goodwin acknowledged United have drawn too many games this season but he believes their recent form shows they are heading in the right direction once more.

"If you go back to last season and the great work that we did to get fourth in the league and having that European experience in the summer, there's been some great memories along the way," Goodwin said, reflecting on the past calendar year.

"This summer we've done fantastic recruitment, signing 14 players. I think you can see the quality that we've added.

"We've got the youngest average-age squad in the league and some of those young players are really starting to grow into the Scottish Premiership and show the qualities that they have - the likes of Zac Sapsford, Amar Fatah, Luca Stephenson, Iurie Iovu - so there's a lot to be optimistic about.

"I think there's still a lot more to come from this group."

Jonathan Sutherland
Sportscene presenter

Dundee United picked up another important victory with a comfortable performance against bottom side Livingston, and they've got two players in my team of the week.

Another goal for Australian Zac Sapsford, who has impressed overall for United. Versatile, quick, energetic and dynamic with a real eye for goal.

A second successive round of fixtures where 21-year-old winger Amar Fatah has made my team of the week. His goal against Livingston was very similar to the one he scored against Aberdeen, ghosting in from the left and the finish was sublime.

We asked for your thoughts after Dundee United's convincing win over bottom side Livingston.

Here's a taste of what you had to say:

Kenneth: A well-deserved win. Will Ferry worked very hard and everyone looked up for it. We should have been four or five up but were a bit nervy at 1-0 with a few minutes of the first half to go, against a weak opponent. Great to see our young boys getting game-time and acquitting themselves so well. It feels like we've turned a corner. Now let's have the same commitment and desire against Dundee. Bring it on!

Lee: Fantastic performance. It's only Livi, but it begs the question why we can't set up and have a go at team like we did last night? Good end to the year, roll on the derby!

Ross: At last - an assured and confident performance. Admittedly against a poor Livingston side. However, both a great team and individual performances made for three points and all eyes on the three point prize on Saturday against the Dees. Great to see utilisation of the squad (at last). Special praise to Zac Sapsford for a fine first goal finish, Sam Cleall-Harding who was assured at the back, Craig Sibbald (who gets better and better) and young Owen Stirton who led the line well in his 70-odd minutes. Praise also to the gaffer for ringing the changes and them paying off.

George: Good and much-needed result which hopefully will allow us to kick on with a derby win. Disappointing to lose the goal at the end showing our weakness at the back. Let's win the derby and turn draws into victories until the end of the season and we should achieve a good top-six position.

Watch the pick of the action as Dundee United return to the Scottish Premiership top six with a 3-1 win at bottom club Livingston. (Available to UK users only)

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Striker Owen Stirton says he's "thrilled" to extend his Dundee United contract until the summer of 2028.

The 18-year-old academy graduate made his senior debut in 2023 in United's 3-0 SPFL Trust Trophy win over Dunfermline and since then has gone on to make 16 first-team appearances for Jim Goodwin's side.

This term, he's played eight games for United, including in their Conference League qualifiers, and has scored one goal, in their Premier Sports Cup win over Kilmarnock.

"I'm thrilled to sign a longer contract here as I continue to grow my United career," Stirton said.

"The opportunities I've been given have provided a great platform to showcase my ability and keep developing. Playing in Europe on four occasions was unbelievable, and scoring my first cup goal for United was another dream moment.

"From my loan spell at Montrose to those European nights and my recent Under-19 international appearances, 2025 has been a huge year for my development.

"I feel I've matured a lot and now I want to show that I can play a significant role in the first-team squad as we look to build on a strong campaign so far."

Dundee United are back into the top six for the first time since late October after a convincing 3-1 win away to bottom side Livingston.

Read the full match report.

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