Match Preview: Dundee v Cowdenbeath

It might be an international weekend with Scotland entertaining Brazil but before that the Blue Brazil have their own vital match to play away to Dundee.

It will be the final meeting between the 2 sides this season with the Dens Park side having won 2 of the 3 times so far.  In the opening match we snatched a surprising 2-1 win at Central Park with Mark Ramsay and Brian Fairbairn grabbing our goals.  Over Christmas we lost 3-0 at Dens before they came to Central Park and won 3-1 a couple of weeks ago.

Cowden picked up a vital three points on the road last weekend thanks to a Greg Stewart goal in a 1-0 win over Partick Thistle before losing 2-0 at home to Morton on Tuesday night. Despite the result Jimmy Nicholl was happy with the display.

"The boys were unlucky on Tuesday night but ultimately Morton took all three points", said Nicholl.

"Morton are a good side but there was nothing between the sides. We were able to cope with their attacking threat and created some good chances but unfortunately a questionable penalty decision and a bizzare goal in the second half cost us.

"We have picked up 6 precious points in recent away games against Stirling and Partick which has given us a great chance of securing our place in the 1st Division next season. We can take much confidence from our recent form and look to take something back from Dens Park against a side that is on an oustanding run at the moment."

Visit Kick Talk radio to hear more pre-match chat with Jimmy Nicholl.

John Armstrong (ankle), Bob Malcom (back) and Archie Campbell (hamstring strain) will all miss the match but could come back into contention for Tuesday's home game against promotion hopefuls Falkirk. Lee Makel, Kyle Miller and Colin Cameron face late fitness tests while youngsters Thomas O'Brien and Danny Mackay are included the travelling squad. For Mackay it marks a return to the first team squad after a long spell on the sidelines due to a cruciate injury. Joe Mbu had knee surgery this week and will be out for around 6 weeks.

The omens do not look good for Cowden going into this match - we've not won a match on this date for over 20 years and Dundee are currently on a club record unbeaten league run.  Of course though it was us who were the last team in the league to record a victory over Dundee so it would be fitting for us to end their run.  Jimmy Nicholls side are desperate for the 3 points to try and stave off the dreaded relegation play-off spot in which we currently sit on goal difference but up against a team who have gathered the most points in the league this season this will not be an easy task. In fact their run is amongst the best in Britain.
 
It should be noted though that our recent away form has improved with a couple of wins coming this year against Stirling Albion and of course last Saturday against Partick Thistle while we have yet to win at Central Park in 2011.  That should provide the squad with some optimism going into the game especially with Dundee having some issues with numbers of available players going into the game.
 
Match of the day fact of the week:- Cowdenbeath have managed to gain exactly half the number of points we had at this date last season.  We had 50 points from 28 games last season whereas this year we have 25 points from 27!