Derby Focus

Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin has said the Tayside city will host a high-profile derby at Tannadice this weekend, stressing the importance of the fixture and the need for players to perform in front of a full house. Goodwin, who is preparing his squad for the match against Dundee, stressed the importance of the fixture and the need for players to perform in front of a full house. He said, "I love the big games, I always have. Of course there’s a nervous tension before it and you want to make sure you’ve got everything right in the build-up to the game. But you have to enjoy being part of these types of games."

Goodwin added that the derby is the only Premiership encounter of the weekend, giving United a chance to close the gap on teams above them. "Every game has its significance and this one has a little bit more significance than others, because of the relationship between the two clubs, the rivalry that’s there, and of course we want to send our supporters home happy," he said.

Player Availability

United will again be without Will Ferry, who missed last weekend’s 4-0 Premier Sports Cup defeat by Celtic with a groin injury amid transfer speculation surrounding his future. Goodwin said, "Will is still feeling the groin. He went for a scan last week and it showed up just a tiny little strain in the groin area. Obviously, when he’s missing for a game of the importance of last weekend, people tend to jump to conclusions but what Will said was wrong with him showed up on the scan. The game will come too soon for him, but everybody else is in good shape. It certainly won’t impact him. It’s not a serious injury and I would expect Will to be absolutely fine going into the game next weekend."

SFA Controversy

Meanwhile, Goodwin remains unconvinced about Celtic’s second goal at Tannadice. The ball struck Kasper Hogh’s hand before Camilo Duran netted, but the SFA stated it was a "consequence of his playing action and completely accidental" and reiterated that the goal would only be disallowed if the goalscorer handled. Goodwin said, "We had an instance in Falkirk v St Mirren a couple of weeks before where it was pretty much identical. There was an explanation given from the SFA which I think gave us more questions than answers to be honest."