Dundee travel to Easter Road this weekend to take on Hibernian in the Scottish Premiership as the visitors continue their battle against relegation to the Scottish Championship.
The Dee are 11th in the standings with six matches remaining, and should they be in this position at the end of the campaign, they will need to play a relegation playoff to ensure their survival in the division.
Match preview
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Dundee secured a precious three points last weekend as they surprised St Mirren with a 2-0 victory against the Buddies at the Scot Foam Stadium.
Simon Murray was the hero, as he netted a goal in each half, both helping Dundee's survival hopes and hindering St Mirren's top-six aspirations.
In doing so, Murray moved level with Celtic's Daizen Maeda in the league's scoring charts, with the pair now on 15 goals each this season.
Maeda then blanked the following day as the defending champions suffered a shock defeat to bottom-placed St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.
Though Maeda's lack of goals in the match would have pleased Murray from a personal perspective, Celtic's defeat allowed St Johnstone to stay within five points of Dundee as both sides secured crucial victories last weekend.
With the league set to split in half following the conclusion of this weekend's round of fixtures, Dundee know that their challenge for their final six matches is to avoid relegation to the Championship, and ideally, without having to compete in a playoff to stay in the division.
Although two wins and a draw in their last five matches are a sign of improvement in form at a crunch time in the season, it has been a difficult year for Tony Docherty's men, having finished in the top six last season.
Docherty's side have had two lengthy runs of poor form that have contributed heavily to where they are in the standings, as the club won just one of their opening seven league fixtures before beginning 2025 with a poor run that saw them win just once between January 2 and mid-March.
Indeed, their two wins in the past three league matches are as many as the club had enjoyed in their previous 14 matches beforehand.
They will be hopeful that they can build some momentum following their recent upturn in fortunes, though they will face a tricky trip to Hibs this weekend, before their season concludes with games against each of the other five clubs in the bottom six.
![Hibernian Manager David Gray during the Premier Sports Cup Group C match at Easter Road, Edinburgh UK against Peterhead on July 27, 2024 [on August 2, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/24/31/david-gray.jpg?w=640&h=480&auto=compress,format&fit=clip "Hibernian Manager David Gray during the Premier Sports Cup Group C match at Easter Road, Edinburgh UK against Peterhead on July 27, 2024 [on August 2, 2024]")
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After a troubled start to the campaign, the Hibees were bottom of the league, having won just one of their opening 14 league games.
They have climbed up to third in the standings after 12 wins and five draws in the 18 matches since that point, with their last league defeat coming against defending champions Celtic on December 7.
That run stretches across 16 matches in the league, as the hosts have completely turned their season around in the second half of the campaign.
Both Hibs and Dundee have an excellent record in front of goal this season, having both scored 50 goals in their opening 32 matches.
Unfortunately for Dundee, their defence leads the league in goals conceded, having let in 67 goals this season – 10 more than the next closest team St Johnstone.
On the other hand, Hibs have the fourth-strongest defensive record in the league, and that is one of the key reasons why the hosts are currently third, and Dundee are battling for survival.
The two sides have met twice already this season, with Dundee facing Hibs twice during the home side's poor run earlier in the campaign.
Dundee have had the better of the two meetings, having gained a point in a 2-2 draw at Easter Road back in August, before Dundee thrashed Hibs 4-1 in the other contest between the sides in November.
That result left David Gray's side seven points behind Dundee in the standings, but heading into this weekend's clash, the Hibees are 16 points ahead of Docherty's men.
The history books are also against Dundee in this fixture, as Hibs are unbeaten in their last 15 top-flight home games against the Dee, a run stretching back to October 2001.
Team News
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Martin Boyle has scored in each of his past four matches for the hosts in the Scottish Premiership, and if he manages to find the net again this weekend, he will be the first Hibs player to score in five matches in a row since Christian Doidge in December 2019.
The hosts are expected to be without Joe Newell due to a pelvic injury, with the club captain not featuring in a matchday squad since their victory over Celtic back in February.
In a further blow for the hosts, Rudi Molotnikov is a doubt with a groin issue, but Nicky Cadden was fit enough to make the bench for the 2-0 win against Rangers after a recent injury, and he will be hoping to feature in this match.
Kwon Hyeok-kyu is also unlikely to feature for the hosts due to an ankle issue, and Elie Youan is expected to be out for this weekend's clash too.
Meanwhile, Dundee's Clark Robertson and Seb Palmer-Houlden made their return to action last weekend against St Mirren, while Antonio Portales was an unused substitute following a recent injury, with the Mexican defender now pushing for a return this weekend.
However, both Lyall Cameron and Scott Fraser (groin) are not expected to feature this weekend for the visitors.
Hibernian possible starting lineup:
Smith; Obita, Iredale, Bushiri, Miller, C Cadden; Triantis, Levitt, Hoilett; Kukharevych, Boyle
Dundee possible starting lineup:
Carson; Larkeche, C Robertson, Shaughnessy, McGhee; Mulligan, Sylla, F Robertson; Adewumi, Murray, Tiffoney
We say: Hibernian 2-0 Dundee
The hosts are enjoying their football right now, and while Dundee have found a little bit of form lately, we fully expect Hibs to take all three points here.
They have an excellent home record against Dundee over the years, and we do not see that changing this weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Tom Humphrey
