DUNDEE UNITED are doing little to justify their status as SPFL Championship title favourites right now and desperately need a win at home to Partick Thistle get their season back on track.
After a harrowing League Cup group campaign that saw Jim Goodwin's men lose to Spartans and Partick, I still backed the Tannadice side to win the league because they had a stronger squad than most of their rivals.
That looked like a wise move as they got off to a flier in the Championship but Dundee United have now been overtaken by a Raith Rovers side who are brimming with confidence.
Ian Murray's side inflicted United's first league defeat at Tannadice earlier this month and remain five points clear at the top after both title rivals drew in the last round of fixtures.
Goodwin's side fired blanks at struggling Queen's Park, busting the coupon of our man Mark, and they've now won just twice in their last seven games in all competitions, having crashed out of both the Scottish Cup and the Challenge Cup.
Both those defeats came against League One sides so the pressure will be cranked up on Goodwin if he loses to a Partick Thistle side in good form. The Jags sit third, six points behind United, and would have been pushing the top two much closer had they managed to turn draws into wins.
Kris Doolan's side have only lost once in their last nine outings and even that defeat came away to leaders Raith in a seven-goal thriller. So Partick Thistle will fancy their chances at Tannadice as they look to fire the title race wide open.
How the bookies view it
Despite their poor recent form, Dundee United remain red-hot favourites for this one at a best 4/7 with Coral. Plenty of punters will fancy a nibble on Partick Thistle at 9/2 with 888Sport and the draw pays 3/1 with most firms.
Recent head to head
Dundee United turned in arguably their best performance of the season the last time they faced Partick Thistle as they romped to a 5-0 victory at Firhill. But the Jags won 2-1 when they last visited Tannadice on League Cup duty.
That was a rare triumph in this fixture of late though, with Partick only winning once in their last eight clashes with Dundee United.
Players to watch
Louis Moult was banging in the goals for Dundee United earlier in the season and it's no surprise their poor run has coincided with a drought for the former Motherwell striker. He has gone seven games without a goal but could get back on track here and is 6/4 at Paddy Power to add to his eight-goal tally.
Brian Graham haunted one of his old clubs when he scored at Tannadice in Partick Thistle's League Cup win. The veteran striker is on 12 for the season now and is 5/2 at Bet365 for another goal here.
Anything else catch the eye?
There's not a great deal between these sides so it should be a tight game. That makes the half-time draw worth a shout at 7/5 with Unibet while backing United to win by a one-goal margin pays 11/4 at Bet365 and the same bet is 11/2 for Thistle.
BTTS has come up in seven of Partick Thistle's last eight games while over 2.5 goals has landed in eight of their last nine. Combining those picks in a bet builder for this one pays 23/20 at Bet365.
We usually see lots of corners in games at Tannadice with the last four games there producing 52 in total. Over 11 corners pays 11/8 at Bet365 who also price over five first-half flag kicks at 5/4.
This Scottish Championship match between Dundee United and Partick Thistle will be played on Dec 29, 2023 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Dundee United vs Partick Thistle prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
In December 2020 we sadly 
