Preview - Dundee United (h)

While there is no reason for us to be over confident there is certainly nothing to suggest we should be quaking in our boots before the arrival of Craig Levein's men. They have picked up in form recently but most clubs do that when a new manager arrives. And their wins, though impressive, are probably not enough to say for certain that they are a decent side. They have lost both of their away games under Levein and while we will need to ensure we cut off the supply to Hunt we should fancy our chances.

Paterson at Tannadice

However there is one vital area where things could go horribly wrong. Without Keith Lasley our midfield looks empty and unless we fill his spot adequately we are likely to struggle. United's midfield isn't brilliant but they often drop one of the forwards back to make five in the middle and numerical superiority alone could give them an advantage over us.

Corrigan doesn't yet seem to have his full engine back to play in midfield so perhaps Fitzpatrick could be the answer. Even if United do not have that many quality players if they control the midfield it is a safe assumption they will break us down eventually because our defence certainly won't withstand a long barrage of pressure.

The defence could change a little with Corrigan moving into the right full back slot and it is even possible he could play in the centre with Reynolds going to the left, Paterson pushing into midfield and Foran partnering McDonald as Elliot is returning to Hearts shortly. But all that seems unnecessarily complicated when the simpler solution is there. The other big decision Malpas will have to make is whether or not to stick with Colin Meldrum ahead of Graeme Smith. There is no doubt that Meldrum's form has dipped of late although in his defence a better back four would help him out no end. But Malpas made a brave decision to bring him in and even if he doesn't get dropped this week unless we see an upturn from him again the reverse decision cannot be far away.

United have only won once at Fir Park in their last five visits and even that came more from our own collapse rather than their own initiative. We need to take the game to them on Saturday to ensure that pressure is put on their defence rather than our own. It might not be pretty but we'll be happy enough at the end with a 2-1 win.

Remember the last game against United?