Dundee United vs The Spartans Predictions
Dundee United host The Spartans at Tannadice in their final Premier Sports Cup Group B fixture on Tuesday.
The Spartans have lost their opening two group fixtures and seem likely to struggle against their Premiership hosts.
I’m backing Dundee United to win with at least three team goals.
Dundee United Expected to Dominate
- Dundee United scored 3+ goals in 3 of their last 4 home matches
- Dundee United won 5 of their last 6 home matches
- The Spartans lost 3 of their last 4 matches
United and Spartans Level in H2H
Dundee United and The Spartans have met on two previous occasions. United claimed a 2-1 win when these sides last met in the Scottish Cup at Tannadice in February.
The Spartans claimed a 1-0 win in their first-ever contest three years ago.
Dundee United Bounce Back
Dundee United boosted their League Cup qualification hopes with an impressive 3-0 victory over Arbroath at Tannadice on Saturday.
Jim Goodwin's side produced their most convincing performance of the group stage to move back into contention for a place in the knockout rounds.
Goals from Zachary Sapsford, Idjessi Metsoko and Lachlan Rose secured a straightforward victory for the Premiership hosts.
United's response came after a disappointing 1-0 defeat at Montrose in their previous League Cup outing. Goodwin's men had opened their campaign with an unconvincing 1-0 victory away at Stirling Albion.
Usually stronger in home fixtures, the Tangerines picked up victories in five of their last six home fixtures, including a 2-0 win against Scottish champions Celtic.
The Spartans Struggles Continue
The Spartans make the trip to Tannadice after a 3-1 home defeat against Stirling Albion in their most recent League Cup fixture.
Bradley Whyte gave the League One side a third-minute lead, but conceding three goals in an 18-minute spell either side of half-time condemned Douglas Samuel's side to back-to-back home defeats.
The Edinburgh club began their League Cup campaign with a 2-1 home defeat against Arbroath.
The Spartans have endured a tough run of results since the end of last season. The League One side lost four and won just one of eight games since mid-April.
Dundee United vs Spartans Team News
Dundee United: (3-4-1-2) Jack Walton; Josh Rawlins, Bert Esselink, Michael Forbes; Jesse Randall, Vicko Sevelj, Emmanuel Agyei, Will Ferry; Dylan Tait; Zachary Sapsford, Idjessi Metsoko.
Head coach Goodwin is likely to keep faith with much of the same side that eased past Arbroath.
Summer signings Jesse Randall, Dylan Tait and Lachlan Rose are all expected to feature in the United squad on Tuesday.
The hosts have no reported injury issues.
Speaking after last weekend's 3-0 win against Arbroath, Goodwin was "very, very pleased" with his squad after what he described as another "rebuild" this summer.
"It's still very early days for this group," Goodwin told club media.
"Every summer transfer window that we've gone into has been a rebuild.
"We had 14 new faces coming in last season. We've already added nine this season. It takes a lot of time on the training ground for the message to get through to the players.
"I'm definitely seeing positive progress in the training sessions that we're doing.
"I'm very, very pleased with the squad up to now."
The Spartans: (4-2-3-1) Blair Carswell; Matthew Mudie, Jordan Tapping, David McKay, Ethan Drysdale; Sean Welsh, James Craigen; Marc McNulty, Jamie Dishington, Ben Heal; Bradley Whyte.
Spartans boss Samuel could make some changes to his selection on Tuesday. Jamie Dishington, Ben Heal and Marc McNulty are among those who could come into the side.
The League One side have no reported injury issues.