Falkirk will look to build on their win at Motherwell when Dundee make the trip south for matchday 10 of the Premiership on Saturday. The Dark Blues are tied on nine points with the Bairns, but sit one place below them in the table in 9th, following their stunning victory over Celtic last week.Dundee’s Form Guide
Using the Falkirk vs Dundee Match Stats on Andy’s Bet Club, we can see that the Dark Blues have been in decent touch lately, but are still struggling on the road. Steven Pressley’s men are yet to win away from home in the Premiership this season, losing recent trips to St Mirren and Aberdeen without scoring.
- 2-0 Win vs Celtic (H) – Premiership
- 4-0 Loss vs Aberdeen (A) – Premiership
- 2-0 Loss vs St Mirren (A) – Premiership
- 3-2 Win vs Livingston (H) – Premiership
- 1-1 Draw vs Motherwell (H) – Premiership
Dundee’s Recent League Matches:
Dundee vs Celtic
In springing one of the upsets of the season at Dens Park, Dundee outperformed their season average in terms of shots, shots on target, touches in the opposition box and xG. This shows that Pressley was able to put together a plan to hurt the champions and the players were able to execute it successfully.
As expected, the Dark Blues saw little of the ball and were content to defend deep, with their attacking threat coming from set pieces and counter-attacks. They started reasonably aggressively with their pressing, but after heading in the opening goal from a corner, they dropped back.
At times they rode their luck, as their opponents were only able to register two shots on target from 21 attempts (9.5%). Dundee won 56% of their duels over the course of the game. They were also disciplined, giving away just seven fouls.
Aberdeen vs Dundee
Dundee were totally outplayed at Pittodrie and can have few complaints about the heavy nature of the final score. The Dens Park side were punished for a disjointed start to the match, during which they gave up the ball to Aberdeen, who were ruthlessly efficient for once this season as they slammed in three goals in the first 33 minutes.
As an attacking force, nothing came together. Dundee generated just 0.35xG, not helped by a low progressive passing completion rate of 59%. This resulted in them reaching the Dons’ box on just four occasions. By contrast, Aberdeen were able to cut through them by making 78% of their attempts, breaking into the Dundee penalty area on 22 occasions.
Some life came back into Dundee from the bench as their substitutes, notably Emile Acquah and Ashley Hay, were able to get further up the field, but the match had long been lost by the time they appeared.
Dundee’s One to Watch:
Cameron Congreve: The on-loan Swansea winger has broken into the Dundee side over the course of the last four games, and he has rapidly established himself as vital component of the Dens Park side’s attack.
He already has a joint Premiership-best four assists to his credit, and while he has yet to score, he leads the Dark Blues in both total shots per match (1.7) and shots on target per match (0.9).
Final Thoughts:
This is a game that Falkirk will spend on the front foot, with Dundee playing in a far more passive manner to many of their opponents. The Dark Blues allow their opponents far more of the ball than any other team in the Premiership, giving up 23.36 PPDA (passes allowed per defensive action), compared to a league average of 12.38.
Look for John McGlynn’s side to be even more dominant of the ball than usual, and fire off a high number of efforts against an opponent that allows the most shots against them per match (12.78) in the league.
If Dundee are not aggressive out of possession, they are not a side that should be easily written off, particularly in light of last week’s win over Celtic. Set pieces will be a source of danger. They have managed eight shots following corners across their last four matches – more than 20% of their total efforts.
Equally, with an aerial dual success rate of 53.4%, they are the second strongest team in the air and the Bairns would be well advised to take care not to give away free kicks around the box.
The issue for Pressley’s side is that they rarely force these attacking set-piece situations. With 3.17 corners per match, they have the lowest such count in the Premiership. It is important for Falkirk’s hopes that it remains that way.
