Tony Docherty does not have to look back too far to recognise how difficult a task Dundee face against Kilmarnock in the Scottish Gas Scottish Cup at Rugby Park on Saturday.
The Taysiders’ last outing was at the same venue on December 30 where a last-gasp leveller from captain Joe Shaughnessy in the 2-2 cinch Premiership draw took a point back to Dens Park.
The two sides also drew 2-2 in Dundee in September when Zak Rudden’s strike in the second minute of stoppage time for the 10-man hosts gave The Dee a share of the spoils again.
Boss Docherty, formerly a long-time assistant to Killie boss Derek McInnes, said: “To get anywhere in the cup you have to play difficult teams in difficult venues and I don’t think you would get a more difficult one outwith the Old Firm than Kilmarnock away from home, on their pitch.
“We’ve just played them in our most recent game so we know the task ahead of us and we know we’ll have to be our best and do a lot of things right to progress.
“We’ve got a really difficult game ahead of us. But if we apply ourselves like we had the previous two encounters against Kilmarnock – listen, it will be a terrific game, a really competitive match – hopefully we can edge it.
“The first game we played at Dens, I thought we were the better team until the sending off and then they took ownership of the game a wee bit, but we managed to recover with a true spirit I’ve got within the group.
“I thought for the majority of the game down there, certainly first half, we played really well.
“Again Kilmarnock, good side, a good manager, they came at us but we again come up with answers to get that that goal against them.
“It has been good games against them. It’s two very competitive teams with good players on show and I don’t expect anything different this Saturday.
“I know Derek well and he knows me. It will be competitive, two teams will be set up to go and win the tie and get to the next round.
“So for me, it’s the tie of the round. I know there’s other games being televised but for me it’s a tie of the round, particularly with reference to the last two games that we’ve had.
“But as I said, there’s a lot of things that we’ll need to do right to progress but that the intention, to progress to the next round.”
Man United could be without Toone until new year, says Skinner
Marc Skinner revealed that Manchester United could be without midfielder Ella Toone until the new year after she picked up a calf injury in training.
Toone has featured in five games in the Women's Super League this season, but is yet to register a goal or an assist so far this term.
The 25-year-old has missed United's last two games and was not selected in Sarina Wiegman's England squad for their upcoming friendlies against the United States and Switzerland.
She had previously appeared in a staggering 96 straight matches before missing United's WSL showdown with Leicester City last weekend.
But ahead of the Red Devils' meeting with league leaders Chelsea on Sunday, Skinner confirmed they would be without Toone for not only that game, but for the foreseeable future.
"We have three games [after the international break and before Christmas]. There's always the hope, but I think you balance and you go, 'right, if we can get her back, we get her back'," Skinner said.
"But we're just not going to rush her in this moment because it's a calf injury, it's your running mechanism. If we injure the running mechanism, it takes longer.
"So ideally we'd like her back for those games afterwards.
"The projection is she misses this game [Chelsea], she misses the international window, probably misses the first game after that, and then we'll see from there.
"But because it is such a short block of only three games, we'll assess whether it's worth that or actually resetting to come back after Christmas."
Al-Nassr 1-2 Al-Qadsiah: Aubameyang winner ends hosts' unbeaten run
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang hit the winner as Al-Qadsiah inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League on Friday to end their 21-match unbeaten run.
Cristiano Ronaldo's seventh league goal of the season put Al-Nassr ahead, but Al-Qadsiah replied swiftly through Julian Quinones before Aubameyang struck the decisive blow.
The hosts drew first blood in the 32nd minute when Ronaldo slotted home after Al-Qadsiah goalkeeper Koen Casteels had spilled a routine catch from Talisca's cross.
However, Al-Nassr's joy was short-lived when Quinones brought down Turki Al Ammar's delivery five minutes later, with the Mexcio winger firing past Bento to level the scores.
Quinones also played a part in the winning goal after brilliantly turning the ball back across goal from Nahitan Nandez's search pass to tee up a simple finish for Aubameyang.
The result sees Al-Qadsiah move level on 22 points with third-placed Al-Nassr, with Al-Shabab also level with them.
Stefano Pioli's Al-Nassr are six points adrift of defending champions and leaders Al-Hilal, who also have a game in hand.
Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with Milan
Dusan Vlahovic will miss Juventus' trip to Milan in Serie A this weekend and is also a doubt for the Champions League game at Aston Villa, head coach Thiago Motta has confirmed.
Vlahovic returned from the international break with a muscle problem in his left thigh, and the manager, after he confirmed the Serbian's absence for Saturday's game at San Siro, was asked about his chances of playing on Wednesday at Villa Park.
"I don't know. He definitely won't be there tomorrow. We hope to have him back as soon as possible," Motta told a press conference on Friday.
"Injuries are part of football. Now it's Vlahovic's turn, but we'll keep playing with the same principles, attacking and defending together."
Vlahovic is the latest of Motta's injury problems at Juventus. Argentine winger Nicolas Gonzalez missed the last six league games and is still unavailable, while Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is a long-term absentee.
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will also miss the game with Milan and defender Juan Cabal recently suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, the same issue which will keep fellow defender Gleison Bremer out for the rest of the season.
"I'm really disappointed for Cabal because, like Bremer, he'll be out for a long time," Motta said.
"This is another reason to push ourselves, to commit that bit more so that these absences don't weigh too heavily."
Juventus go into the game as the only unbeaten side in Serie A but find themselves sixth in the standings in what is so far a very tight title race, with just two points separating Motta's side from leaders Napoli.
"It's very balanced and this is good for both us and the public," Motta said.
"We must all try to continue like this. We have to try to get as many positive results as possible."
Milan are one place behind Juve but six points off Motta's side.
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