Sunday’s 12.30 kick-off at Tannadice is Celtic’s most important result of the week regardless of what Hearts produced against Dundee at Tynecastle on Saturday, because the three points are required either to go top or to stay within touching distance going into the final fixtures before the split.
Martin O’Neill’s second interim spell has stabilised a side that was visibly unravelling under Wilfried Nancy’s system in the early months of the campaign, and the 3-1 win over Motherwell last Sunday, built around Yang Hyun-Jun’s brace and a Tomas Cvancara penalty, demonstrated the kind of clinical efficiency that title races eventually demand.
Celtic are unbeaten in 43 consecutive home league games against Dundee United, a statistic that is impressive to state but largely irrelevant to what happens at Tannadice, where the hosts beat Celtic 2-1 in December under Nancy’s watch and have shown enough organisation at home to cause problems when motivated.
O’Neill beat Dundee United 4-0 at Celtic Park in January during his first return as interim, and his impact on the squad’s mental strength since that game has been the most obvious change, but the manager is also working without Callum McGregor, who remains doubtful, and Auston Trusty is serving the last game of a three-match suspension.
Dundee United arrive with their own problems, having surrendered a 2-0 lead in the Dundee derby last Sunday and conceding twice in stoppage time, the second through a Ross Graham own goal, in one of the more deflating collapses of the Scottish season.
Jim Goodwin has acknowledged that defensive frailty in high-pressure situations has been a persistent theme for United this season, and arriving at Tannadice against a Celtic side desperately chasing top spot is not an obvious environment in which to cure that particular problem.
United sit comfortably in mid-table on 35 points and have little to play for beyond pride and Goodwin’s attempt to demonstrate that Robinson’s previous employers, St Mirren, did not simply take advantage of a team that was already organised rather than create an excellent one.
O’Neill’s public ambivalence about continuing beyond May adds an interesting undercurrent to what is otherwise a straightforward chase for silverware, and Celtic’s board will be monitoring performance in every remaining fixture as they assess whether a permanent appointment needs to happen before or after the season ends.
Three wins from the final three pre-split games would leave Celtic in an extraordinary position, and the Dundee United fixture, for all its local complications, is the one most expected to deliver those three points.
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