Former Celtic hero Kenny Dalglish on BBC Radio Scotland

"Nerves will play a part but that can be positive. Celtic are favourites but the game is not played on paper."

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Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths is a man in form, with six goals in his last nine outings, while Mario Bilate, who leads the United line in the absence of Nadir Ciftci, has found the net two times this season.

Former United duo Gary Mackay-Steven and Stuart Armstrong, now nicknamed Zig & Zag at Celtic Park, are missing from the line-up today since they are cup-tied. Celtic boss Ronny Deila said he would understand if they stayed away from today's big game but the pair are suited and booted and commentating on the game for the club's own channel.

BBC Scotland's Jonathan Sutherland on Twitter: "Boring prediction klaxon - Celtic to win 2-0. United will need Mario Bilate to play a blinder. #scottishleaguecupfinal"

Recent form is a worry for Jackie McNamara's men as well since they haven't beaten Premiership opposition since the semi-final win over Aberdeen, including defeats to Kilmarnock, St Johnstone and Partick Thistle.

Following their Europa League exit in Milan, Celtic looked to have all but sewn the league title up after thumping Aberdeen 4-0 but that was followed by a surprise home loss to St Johnstone and they needed to work very hard with 10 men to peg back United's nine last Sunday.

Dundee United have never beaten Celtic in a major cup final. In addition to the 1997 League Cup final there have been four Scottish Cup final showdowns; the aggregate score 11-2 in Celtic's favour.

United's record against Celtic in Glasgow isn't great either. They are without a win in 48 league and cup meetings, losing 37 of those.

The one and only previous meeting of these sides in the League Cup final resulted in a 3-0 victory for Celtic in 1997. United manager Jackie McNamara and his assistant Simon Donnelly picked up winners' medals that day. McNamara also won this trophy with Celtic in 2000 and 2001.

Time for a quick stat-attack: Celtic have won the trophy 14 times, while Dundee United retained this cup way back in 1980 and will feel they have waited long enough to complete a hat-trick.

Celtic have lost their previous two finals in this tournament, last enjoying success in 2009, while United have been runners-up on four occasions since their Jim McLean-era triumphs.

Celtic manager Ronny Deila on BBC Radio Scotland

"We go into every game with the best possible team to win the game.

"The pitch is good, so there is no excuses for not getting up to a good tempo. It looks like they will play with five at the back, so we might need to be patient."

On Scott Brown: "He made a small mistake. Everyone is talking about fitness and he is the fittest guy I have!"

Dundee United manager Jackie McNamara on BBC Radio Scotland

"Today is a massive game, we need to make sure we leave everything on the pitch and have no regrets. The players all want that silverware, they want to be part of something good.

"I've got good options on the bench if we need to change things. The pitch looks good but anything with grass on it is going to be better than our surface at Tannadice at the moment."

Of course, Celtic must win today to keep their hopes of a domestic treble on track. Martin O'Neill managed such a feat in his debut season, can Ronny Deila match that impressive introduction to Scottish football?

The Hampden pitch was in a shocking state for the semi-finals when United came from behind to beat Aberdeen and Celtic eased past Rangers. The surface has been redone again following the stadium's post-Commonwealth Games renovation, so let's hope we avoid a repeat of the molehills of loose turf and players slipping and sliding all over the place.

Kris Commons returns to the Celtic line-up, while Mario Bilate is perhaps a surprising choice up front for United. The Dutch striker has not started a game since 1 November. Ryan Dow was tipped by many to play as a lone forward in the absence of Nadir Ciftci. It also looks like Ryan McGowan has been given a midfield role.

Dundee United: Cierzniak, Dillon, Morris, Fojut, Dixon, McGowan, Butcher, Paton, Rankin, Dow, Bilate. Subs: Szromik, Souttar, Telfer, Spittal, Connelly, Erskine, Anier

Celtic: Gordon; Ambrose, Denayer, van Dijk, Izaguirre; Brown, Bitton; Commons, Johansen, Stokes; Griffiths. Subs: Zaluska, Guidetti, Scepovic, Fisher, McGregor, Forrest, Henderson.

Image source, SNS Group

Celtic skipper Scott Brown (right) generated a few headlines this week after photographs in a red top newspaper appeared to show him in an intoxicated state. The club has so far refused to comment on the matter but there does not appear to be any rift with manager Ronny Deila or assistant John Collins judging by this photo them larking around on the Hampden pitch.

The midfielder is the only player on show with a winners' medal for this tournament after playing a starring role in Hibernian's 2007 success.

Incredibly, all of the men dismissed last weekend are free to play since Virgil van Dijk won an appeal against his red card, while Paul Paton was the poor guy sent packing for one of the few scraps he wasn't actually involved in. Calum Butcher, who did tangle with Van Dijk, escaped any punishment and Paul Dixon's ban is for the Scottish Cup replay.

Dundee United striker Nadir Ciftci was given a two-match suspension for his role in the first-half melee but was already banned from the final after picking up two bookings in the competition.

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Act I will be pretty hard to follow in terms of raw drama. It may not have been full of silky soccer - the wretched Tannadice pitch must take some of the blame for that - but there were thrills and spills aplenty. We had three red cards - one a case of mistaken identity, a dodgy penalty that was scored and another spot-kick saved.

These two are rivalling Beowulf, Game of Thrones and The Mahabharata in tales of epic battle since this is just Act II in a four-part series of contests. Last weekend, the pair shared a 1-1 draw in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup, they meet for the replay on Wednesday and next Saturday sees them meet again on Premiership duty.

Good afternoon and welcome to our Scottish League Cup final coverage as Celtic and Dundee United go head-to-head at Hampden to settle the first silverware of the season.