Match Preview

Dundee United will bid to reach the semi-final stage of a national cup competition for the sixth time in six years when they travel to Edinburgh to play on-form Hibernian. By Michael Blackley Head Coach Mixu Paatelainen will hope to see further signs of improvement from his squad after a battling display against Ross County on Saturday netted him his first three points since taking on the job last month. That victory ended a winless streak in the league which stretched back almost three months to the victory at Motherwell on August 8. But the determined performance and hard-working attitude of his players will give him confidence that his squad can dig in and get another massive result at Easter Road. They will be up against a team on a high, after Hibs defeated Championship leaders Rangers on Sunday, which was their eighth consecutive home match without defeat. Polish goalkeeper Michal Szromnik will be hoping to get another chance after a clean sheet on his first appearance of the season at the weekend. Paatelainen, who was in charge of Hibs for just over two years, has left-back Paul Dixon back in training. However, he is unlikely to be deemed fit enough to be involved tomorrow. Last season, United knocked out Hibs at exactly this stage of the League Cup in what was a dramatic night of entertainment at Easter Road. In that match, United led three times through goals from Chris Erskine, Aidan Connolly and Ryan Dow, only to be pegged back on each occasion before Rado Cierziak produced two fantastic saves to first deny Hibs victory then ensure United’s progress. United will hope to continue a good record at Easter Road which has seen them lose just once in their last ten visits. Adding another victory tomorrow would result in a second consecutive League Cup semi-final – and leave open the prospect of including some silverware into a thus far challenging season. Come On United!!! Click here for ticket info for tomorrow's game.