Terrors Fear Old Foe
Dundee United man hopes Nikica Jelavic does not play tomorrow.
Dundee United centre-half Gavin Gunning hopes Everton striker Nikica Jelavic is given the night off when the Toffees face the Terrors at Tannadice tomorrow.
That’s because Gunning, formerly of Blackburn Rovers, was given the run around by the Croatian when United faced Rangers back in November, and could only watch helplessly as an early Jelavic double sealed a 3-1 victory for the Glasgow club.
While both have played a lot of football since then, Gunning is adamant that he will be in for another tough night’s work if the frontman who returned to pre-season training this week is selected.
“Jelavic is a top international striker," he said. "I know that for sure. When I played against him at Ibrox, he scored a couple of headers and was a real stand-out.”
Gunning should know what he’s talking about when it comes to strikers, having been a team-mate of the likes of Roque Santa Cruz and Robbie Fowler whilst at Ewood Park, and is unsurprised to see the former Rangers man impress in both the Premier League and at Euro 2012.
He said: “You could see that by the way he held his own at the Euros, he’s up there with the best. He’s done very well since going to the Premier League by scoring some great goals.”
With United gearing up for their upcoming European campaign, a chance to face an established top-flight side from south of the border should help them build on a derby win over Dundee last weekend.
“We had a good victory last weekend in front of a very big crowd and hopefully there is another decent turnout for the Everton game,” added Gunning.
“They are a big name in English football and it’s a chance for our fans to see some of the top stars from down south in the flesh. They have class all over the park.”
Evertonians will be able to tune in for both of the Blues' games in Scotland, as well as four other pre-season fixtures thanks to evertontv LIVE.
The matches against Dundee United, Motherwell, Malaysia, Galatasaray or Indonesia, Blackpool and Malaga will all be available to watch LIVE and EXCLUSIVE here on the official Club website.
Each fixture is available to order now at a pay-per-view price of just £3.99, with an all-access six-game package priced at £18.99 – a saving of 20 per cent!