THE Dundee derby makes a welcome return to the Scottish Premiership calendar on Sunday as Dundee United take on city rivals Dundee at Tannadice.
This hotly-anticipated showdown will be the first time these old foes have faced each other in the Scottish top-flight in over five years.
Tam Courts' appointment was not universally popular amongst the Terrors fanbase but back-to-back triumphs over Rangers and St Johnstone have lightened the mood on the Tangerine side of town.
Sure, United are winless in their last two outings but they remain four points ahead of their arch-rivals after five rounds of fixtures and they will be desperate to strike the first Dundee derby blow of the season.
Dundee, on the other hand, are still searching for their first win of the season, with the Dark Blues posting three draws and two defeats following their promotion back to the Scottish Premiership.
James McPake was left ruing his side's profligacy in front of goal against basement boys Livingston last weekend, on an afternoon where my recommended card bet clicked.
Outright Betting
The bookies are finding it hard to separate the teams, with Dundee United slight favourites at 32/21 (SBK) while the stalemate has been chalked up at 28/13 (SBK) with the same firm.
Dundee have not left Tannadice as winners since August 2004 and McPake's men will take the short walk down Sandeman street as slight outsiders at 13/7 with SBK.
Betting Angles
It's difficult to have much faith in either team here so I'm going to swerve the outright markets and instead opt for a Bet Builder.
Combining over three Dundee corners and over three match cards brings about an eye-catching even-money play at UniBet.
Dundee have struggled for goals this season but they have been relatively strong corner performers, with an average of 5.6 flag kicks per-game so far.
The Dark Blues have hit 4+ corners in four of their opening five matches while Dundee United have conceded at least four corners in all five of their Scottish top-flight fixtures this term.
With that in mind, I'll back James McPake's men to rack up four corners on Sunday, but to bring about the aforementioned even-money (UniBet) play, I'll also throw over three cards into the mix.
Granted, cards were in short supply in both of the recent Edinburgh and Old Firm derbies respectively, but I feel we have all the ingredients required for a tasty tussle at a sell-out Tannadice.
Both rivals have been averaging well over two cards per-game during the first month of the season, not to mention all five of Dundee's fixtures thus far have featured four or more cards.
What's more, experienced referee John Beaton has been selected to take charge of this all-Dundee affair, an appointment that immediately had my eyes drawn to the card markets given that Scottish whistler has flashed 13 cards across two top-flight outings this term.
There's no shortage of the usual suspects to go into the book but it may pay to go against the grain and take a value price in Dundee's Shaun Byrne at 10/3 with Bet 365.
The combative midfielder has been cautioned in two of his last four outings and he looks a big price to be booked here too given that he will be involved in a fiery midfield battle.
This Scottish Premiership match between Dundee United and Dundee will be played on Sep 19, 2021 and kick off at 12:00. Check below for our tipsters best Dundee United vs Dundee prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
