Dundee United have pinpointed Alexei Eremenko as the man who can hurt them at Rugby Park.
The Premiership leaders travel to Ayrshire on Friday night to face Kilmarnock looking to extend their lead at the top of the table to five points.
However, that won’t be easy to do against a Killie side who have won their last three home league matches, most recently a 3-0 hammering of Partick Thistle on Saturday.
That game saw Eremenko play a key part in two of their goals and United assistant boss Simon Donnelly suggested they will be keeping a close eye on the Russian-born Finnish international.
Donnelly said: “Alexei Eremenko was a standout when they played against us at Tannadice last season.
“He was just coming back when we faced them last season and probably wasn’t as fit as he is now.
“He was carrying a bit of weight but you could still see the quality when he was on the ball.
“On the ball he can hurt people. We have watched a video the game and he seems to have played really well against Partick Thistle.”
Meanwhile former United star Ryan Gauld was brought crashing down to earth following his dream Scotland call-up as Sporting Lisbon ‘B’ were held to a disappointing 0-0 draw against minnows CD Tondela.
The 18-year-old started his seventh consecutive match for Sporting’s reserve side but could do nothing to break through the stubborn Tondela defence at the Estadio Joao Cardoso.
The stalemate leaves Sporting B seven points off the pace in the Segunda Division. Gauld also found the net in a recent win over Aves.