Dundee United

Jonathan Sutherland
Sportscene presenter

Dundee United earned a vital point as they held reigning champions Celtic to a goalless draw at Tannadice and United have one player in my Team of the Week.

As Brendan Rodgers pointed out, his Celtic side did not work Jack Walton enough at Tannadice. But when it mattered the United keeper demonstrated he was up to the task, especially with a vital late save that almost looked certain to find the net as his side earned a valuable point against the champions.

United fans, we asked for your views on Sunday's 0-0 draw with Celtic.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Paul: A result that on paper should never have happened, especially when Celtic can bring £20m worth of players off the bench. Proud of the way we defended, limiting them to only a couple of clear openings. A boost going into some crucial games we should be looking to take a good points haul from.

Stephen: Was it great to watch, no but it was a lot better than taking nine. This Celtic side has battered everyone else in league and cup so to restrict them to barely testing Jack Walton, yeah I'll take it. A good point well earned, onto St Johnstone on Boxing Day!

Ross: A change of gameplan worked perfectly. From a three to back four, everyone behind the ball when out of possession, compact shape to deny the opponents space - all worked to great effect. Proves that a "horses for courses" tactical philosophy might just keep United looking towards a top six finish rather than the dreaded relegation dogfight.

Anon: Vicko Sevelj is developing into an outstanding defensive midfielder. The cover he provided for the centre-back pairing of Declan Gallagher and Kevin Holt - both pretty impressive themselves - was exceptional and allowed United to frustrate Celtic in a way few teams have managed this season.

Jamie: The draw is brilliant, the clean sheet is outstanding! This was a massive result to move on from last weekend's disappointment. Now it's time for Jim Goodwin to play four at the back against teams outside of the Old Firm. Go for it!

Dave: As much a feeling of relief as anything else. Can hardly say we deserved any more but the defensive performance was almost impeccable and worthy of our point. Will hopefully add to the growing belief that's developing in the club.

Lee: Back to normal after the disappointing defensive display last week vs Motherwell. Discipline, focus and concentration were all on display against the best team in the league and we could even have won it with those half chances at the end. Roll on Boxing Day!

Image source, SNS

• Celtic are undefeated in their last 25 games in the Premiership, their last longer unbeaten streak was from 1 October 2022 to 7 May 2023, a run of 27 games.

• Dundee United have failed to win in their last three games in the Premiership, their last joint longest winless streak was from 26 October 2024 to 3rd November 2024.

• Celtic have kept a clean sheet in each of their last four games in the Premiership, a run of 411 minutes without conceding a goal.

• Celtic have kept a clean sheet in 13 of their 16 games, more than any other in the Premiership this season.

• Dundee United have kept a clean sheet in six of their 17 games, only Rangers (10) and Celtic (13) have done this more often in the Premiership this season.

• Celtic have kept a clean sheet in each of their last four games in the Premiership, their last longer run of games without conceding a goal in the competition was a run of six games from 4 August 2024 to 28 September 2024.

• Dundee United attempted two shots in this game, their lowest total in a single match in the Premiership this season.

Watch the best of the action as Dundee Utd draw 0-0 with Celtic in the Scottish Premiership.

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Celtic dropped Scottish Premiership points for just the second time this season as defensively solid Dundee United earned a creditable 0-0 draw against the champions in challenging, windy conditions.

The Tannadice stalemate means Jim Goodwin's side have lost just one of their past seven league matches, highlighting their impressive return to the top flight.

What did you make of the performance from United?

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Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin: "It's a really well-earned point from our perspective.

"If you'd offered me a clean sheet before kick-off, I'd have snapped your hand off. Defensively, we were excellent. Great discipline and concentration. There was a real resilience and determination from the group.

"We don't want to play like that every time, but you have to respect the level of the opposition.

"We had a few scrambles, two or three breakaways, but we didn't do enough with them."

Martin Dowden
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter at Tannadice

Image source, SNS

Jim Goodwin pointed to the need for defensive solidity and his side restricted Celtic throughout. It was fraught at times but all credit to them for seeing it out.

The fact Jack Walton wasn't directly tested until late on says it all.

United gave up a lot of the ball, perhaps not intentionally, but stayed so well drilled.

Glenn Middleton offered some threat down the left on occasions, but there wasn't much for Kasper Schmeichel to consider over the 90 minutes.

However, the Tannadice side will be delighted with the outcome and the resilience shown. Another excellent result for Goodwin's men.

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Dundee United will be without striker Louis Moult, who damaged shoulder ligaments in last week's defeat at Motherwell.

Will Ferry is available after suspension, while Ross Docherty (calf) and Craig Sibbald (groin) are still out.

Celtic winger James Forrest is facing six weeks on the sidelines with a foot injury, while Alistair Johnston could miss out with a minor hip issue.

Luke McCowan returns to contention after being cup-tied for last weekend's Premier Sports Cup final.

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Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin says his side "have to believe" they can become the first team to inflict a domestic defeat on Celtic this season.

Fifth place United host the undefeated league leaders on Sunday.

The Hoops have yet to lose a game against Scottish opposition this term and it's been ten years since United last defeated Celtic at Tannadice.

"Every team has tried to win against them in the league up to now," Goodwin said.

"Nobody has been able to do so but we have to believe that we might be the team to do it.

"We are very aware of how good a team Celtic are, you talk about how tight our squad is but the strength and depth that Celtic have is extraordinary.

"Brendan Rodgers can change 11 players and go with a new 11 the following game and it is almost like for like in terms of international quality.

"So we know how big a challenge it is going to be, nobody up to now domestically has been able to beat them but of course there is always a chance.

"We have to believe that we can cause an upset but in order to do that a lot of things need to fall into place on the day."

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

Dundee United defender Kevin Holt says they will need to get back to defending "brilliantly" when champions Celtic visit Tannadice on Sunday.

Fifth-placed United's impressive season so far has been built on defensive solidity but after losing 4-3 at Motherwell last time out, Holt knows they will have to shore things up this weekend.

"We had a disappointing result last weekend, and uncharacteristically conceded four goals," Holt said. "We will be looking to get back to how we have been this year, we have defended as a team brilliantly and we will be looking to get back to that on Sunday.

"We have built a lot on clean sheets this year and defending as a team from the front and right through the team, defending strongly. For the majority of the season we have done really well in that department and not conceded too many goals.

"It is something we will be looking to get back to on Sunday, we know it will be a tough test but it is one the boys are all looking forward to."

United know all too well about the challenge of hosting Celtic, with the 9-0 loss two years ago still all too easy to remember.

"You see it every season, teams go through good spells, they are obviously unbeaten up to this point and it is not going to be an easy challenge for us on Sunday.

"But it is one we can definitely go in with confidence in how we have defended against other teams in the league this year and look to get something from the game.'

"That winning run for them will come to an end at some point, there is no reason for that not to be on Sunday."

Image source, SNS

Motherwell should have been awarded a penalty in their 4-3 win over Dundee United last weekend, according to the Scottish FA's key match incident panel.

Luca Stephenson's challenge on Steve Seddon went unpunished by referee Nick Walsh, with VAR agreeing with the decision of the on-field official.

But the majority of the Scottish FA's KMI panel (four of the five members) agreed at an review should have been recommended and a spot-kick awarded.

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

Jim Goodwin says striker Louis Moult's latest setback is a "bitter blow" that sums up Dundee United's injury misfortune this season.

The 32-year-old recently returned to the team after being sidelined for a couple of months with a knee problem.

Moult now faces another spell out after he injured shoulder ligaments during last weekend's defeat by Motherwell.

"We will be having to go without him for a few weeks unfortunately and it is a major disappointment for him and for us as a team because we have not long got him back after his previous injury," manager Goodwin said.

"It is a bitter blow. It is an area of the pitch we are light in anyway, just having the three strikers, so on Sunday we go into the game with two senior strikers available."

United are fifth in the table before Sunday's visit of leaders Celtic. Goodwin's side have enjoyed an impressive campaign so far, despite having to deal with injuries to several players.

"I know every team goes through little spells throughout the course of a season missing key players, but I do feel we have had a really unfortunate time right from the beginning with the amount of key players we have had to go without," the Irishman added.

"Obviously (Craig) Sibbald has been out for a long stretch, (Kristijan) Trapanovski, Ross Graham, Ross Docherty, Moult – we have never had a fully-fit squad to choose from.

"And with us not being the biggest squad anyway it makes life very difficult when you want to try and rotate or try and freshen things up."

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premiership visit of leaders Celtic.

Here are the key lines.

• Striker Louis Moult faces "a few weeks" out after suffering shoulder ligament damage, with Goodwin describing it as a "bitter blow".

• He says United have been "really unfortunate" with injuries this season.

• Goodwin urges United to believe they can inflict Celtic's first domestic defeat of the season and says they go into it with a "positive mindset".

• He is well aware how big a challenge his side face against Celtic, saying "the job Brendan Rodgers has done is remarkable".

• Goodwin cited Aberdeen – who drew 2-2 at Parkhead earlier in the season - as evidence of what can happen if you stay in the game against Celtic.

• After uncharacteristically conceding four goals in their last game, Goodwin knows United "can't give up the kind of opportunities against Celtic that we did against Motherwell.".

• He described United in-form striker Sam Dalby as being "invaluable" and believes "there is more to come" from the Wrexham loanee.

Clive Lindsay
BBC Sport Scotland

Will Sunday prove to be a happy anniversary for United?

It will be almost exactly a decade since Celtic last lost at Tannadice, when goals from Nadir Ciftci and Stuart Armstrong - who would both go on to play for the visitors - put United on their way to victory before a late Leigh Griffiths reply.

That was on Sunday, 21 December 2014 and Tannadice has been a happy hunting ground since then for the Glasgow side, who are unbeaten there in 11 visits, winning seven and scoring 18 goals in their last five.

Half of them came in a famous victory in August 2022, with striker Kyogo Furuhashi - who is one of five survivors of the starting line-up that day still in the squad - grabbing a hat-trick.

Celtic would go on to win their 53rd Scottish league title that season and can concentrate on consolidating their pole position in this campaign after securing their first silverware of the season with Sunday's League Cup final thriller against Rangers.

Brendan Rodgers' side arrive on Tayside for their first meeting of the season with United unbeaten in 15 games, seven of them away from Celtic Park, since that 7-1 Champions League hammering by Borussia Dortmund.

That remains their only defeat in 25 matches this season.

With second-place Aberdeen and Rangers both at home on Saturday, Celtic may find their lead at the top has been reduced by the time it comes to the noon kick-off on Sunday, but there have been no signs this season of that kind of pressure having any effect on Rodgers' side.

Being nine points ahead of the Dons - and two more clear of their city rivals - gives plenty of leeway in any case as they seek a 10th consecutive away league victory.

Indeed, with 14 wins and a draw, this is Celtic's joint best start to a league season after 15 games - matching seasons 2001-02, 2003-04, and 2016-17.

They are also undefeated in 19 meetings overall against United, who lost 4-3 at Motherwell on Saturday to relinquish fourth place to their hosts.

However, a visit to Tannadice should still be one of Celtic's toughest domestic tests, with Jim Goodwin's promoted side having gone into that Motherwell match on a five-game unbeaten run of their own.

Read all the weekend Premiership picks

Louis Moult is likely to miss Dundee United's festive fixtures after suffering shoulder ligament damage - but his absence will be in weeks not months. (The Courier)

Read the rest of Friday's gossip.

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Scottish FA head of referee operations Willie Collum says goalkeeper Jack Walton's yellow card for a foul on St Mirren forward Toyosi Olusanya should have been upgraded to red in Dundee United's 2-0 win last month.

Walton raced out of his goal and wiped out Olusanya, catching the forward high just outside the penalty box.

"This is not denying a goalscoring opportunity, but it is serious foul play," Collum said on the Scottish FA's VAR Review show, external.

"The height [of the tackle] is important here. There is speed, there is intensity and it meets the criteria of endangering the safety of an opponent.

"It should have been an on-field review to recommend a red card for serious foul play."

Image source, SNS

• Dundee United are winless in 19 meetings with Celtic in all competitions (D4 L15) since a 2-1 league win in December 2014 under Jackie McNamara.

• Celtic are unbeaten in 11 away games against Dundee United in all competitions (W8 D3), keeping a clean sheet in six of their last seven.

• Only Rangers (22), Aberdeen (22), and Celtic (19) have earned more points at home in the Scottish Premiership this season than Dundee United (14).

• With 14 wins and a draw, this is Celtic's joint best start to a league season after 15 games, also picking up 14 victories and a draw in 2001-02, 2003-04, and 2016-17.

• Celtic have won their last 10 away league outings, last winning more in succession on the road in April 2017 (12).

Nick McPheat
BBC Sport Scotland

Image source, Opta

By the middle of October, Sam Dalby was yet to net a goal in five games for Dundee United.

Two months later, the on-loan Wrexham forward is the Scottish Premiership's top scorer with eight, which have come in his past nine games.

Where that tally becomes more impressive is when you factor in his goals-per-minute ratio of 121 - the sixth best record in the entire top flight.

The 25-year-old has also racked up that total from just 11 starts, plus the fact he has eight goals from an expected goals (xG) rating of six highlights his ability to make the most of his chances.

The former Watford striker has impressive aerial ability, given he has scored four of his goals with his head, and the fact all eight have come from inside the box shows his poacher's instinct.

His link-up play has also impressed, particularly with strike partner Louis Moult in Saturday's 4-3 defeat at Motherwell.

Despite the weekend loss, manager Jim Goodwin would have been impressed with the combination play of his front pairing, who both scored at Fir Park.

And keeping the duo fit and firing will be key if United are to wrestle fourth spot back off Motherwell in the coming weeks.

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Every team is allowed a bump in the road and Dundee United will be hoping the defeat at Motherwell last time out was theirs.

An uncharacteristically slack defensive display contributed to the 4-3 loss at Fir Park.

Jim Goodwin's men will be looking to bounce back this weekend, the only problem is they face the sternest test Scottish football has to offer – Celtic.

On numerous occasions in this column I have praised the guts, grit, character and determination of this United side – one that has a real skill in finding different ways to get something from matches.

They will need to call on all those qualities when the champions head to Tannadice on Sunday.

United are well placed despite dropping to fifth in the table – a really impressive job done so far by Goodwin's side - but we will find out what they are made of in the next few weeks.

Among the difficult hurdles they have to try to overcome is the fact they play Celtic twice in their next six games, home and away.

Oh, and in that little block of fixtures, they also host second-place Aberdeen and travel to play their city neighbours Dundee.

If they can emerge from the coming weeks with a healthy haul of points, then the Tannadice faithful will be justified in believing their dreams of looking out the passports for next season could become reality.

Ronny Costello
Fan writer

I'm fed up watching Dundee United play Motherwell this season.

Fir Park, again, and yet another defeat. That's three games against Motherwell this season and three losses. At this point, they're not just a bogey team - they're a full-blown nightmare.

This time, it was a seven-goal thriller where our soft defending handed them the upper hand, and we just couldn't claw it back.

Motherwell didn't waste time, scoring after just 46 seconds when Apostolos Stamatelopoulos turned in a cross. Potential foul on Declan Gallagher in the build-up? I'd say so. Referee and VAR? Of course not. Typical.

We briefly hit back with Sam Dalby's penalty, but they were ahead again before half-time with two more goals - one bundled in by Andy Halliday, the other a free header for Stamatelopoulos. All preventable. All frustrating.

The second half brought a glimmer of hope. Aston Oxborough's howler gifted Dalby another, but then came a crazy 60 seconds. Louis Moult almost levelled with a shot that smashed off the bar.

Naturally, Motherwell punished us immediately. Tom Sparrow curled in their fourth after some Harlem Globetrotter-esque control with his arm. Handball? Apparently not.

Moult's late header gave us a flicker of belief, but by then it was too little, too late. Motherwell leapt over us in the table and we were left cursing them for the third time this season.

Slack defending and failure to react to loose balls cost us again. The one positive? Dalby keeps banging them in, although even he can't do it all.

Losing to Motherwell is starting to feel like clockwork. Something has to change - because this is getting beyond frustrating. And next up? Celtic on Sunday. Great.

Ronny Costello can be found at The Dode Fox Podcast, external