KILMARNOCK and Dundee United sit level on points in the Scottish Premiership and meet on Tuesday in an intriguing Premier Sports Cup quarter final in Ayrshire.
Both teams have only won two games in the league this season, although United are on something of a run, having impressively thrashed Aberdeen and defeated Hibs before claiming a share of the spoils in the Highlands at Ross County.
New manager Liam Fox has come in and steadied a ship that was floundering after disgraceful 9-0 and 7-0 losses to Celtic and AZ Alkmaar.
Curiously, their run of form has come without veteran pros Steven Fletcher and Charlie Mulgrew and both now face a fight to get back into his team.
Killie are also unbeaten in three games after beating St Johnstone at home then throwing away a two-goal lead against Hearts and drawing at St Mirren on Saturday.
United won at Livingston in the last round on the back of that nine-goal scudding by Celtic and Killie came through their group section with ease before an eye-catching 1-0 win at Tynecastle against Hearts in the last round
How the bookies view it
Kilmarnock are 6/5 favourites here with William Hill.
Dundee United will have their backers at 5/2 with UniBet. The draw is 21/10 with McBookie.com
Recent head to heads
The clubs battled out a 1-1 draw on the opening day of the season at Rugby Park. United knocked Killie out of the Scottish Cup at the same venue last season.
Players to watch
Killie aren't prolific scorers, but Daniel Armstrong has a respectable record this season and is their top scorer with five goals, including a double against Hearts. He is 19/4 to score anytime with McBookie.com.
Tony Watt has been in fine form recently for United. He was dumped to the bench by Fox and the penny appears to have dropped after that as he's now scored in three of United's last four games. He is 5/2 to score at Rugby Park on Tuesday.
Anything else catch the eye?
The sides are matched this season for a reason and this one could be heading for extra time. This could easily be a repeat of the stalemate at the start of the season at Rugby Park.
United have tightened up considerably and are undoubtedly playing with more confidence, but it's a hard ask to play on this artificial pitch and win and the draw looks the obvious call at a fair price.
The visitors have only conceded once in their last three games and Killie had a goalless draw at the weekend. Another low-scoring game is expected here, but under 2.5 goals is as short as 4/7.
So got for bet365's 5/6 on there being no goal before the 33rd minute.
This Scottish League Cup match between Kilmarnock and Dundee United will be played on Oct 18, 2022 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Kilmarnock vs Dundee United prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.