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League Cup Third Round It's league cup action on Tuesday night as Inverness travel to Dens Park to take on Dundee in the third round of the tournament. This will be our third away game in a row, having been to Kilmarnock and Aberdeen since defeating Hearts at home in August. We surrendered our undefeated start to the season losing 1-0 at Pittodrie in a tense meeting with the Dons, but in all honesty it was a bit of a continuation of the dour stuff we witnessed at Kilmarnock. Gone is the fluent defence splitting moves that saw us tear Hearts apart and the long ball has returned, which seems to have sapped the confidence from the team and fans alike. This game is a potential banana skin with the Dark Blues in indifferent form. They too suffered at the weekend going down 3-1 at Falkirk and their season has been littered with poor results and a sprinkling of decent scores. They were knocked out of the Challenge Cup on penalties by Stenhousemuir, but stuffed Livingston 3-0 in the Championship. In the second round of the League Cup they accounted for the Rangers conquerors Forfar Athletic by 2-1. This could be an ideal opportunity to let some of the fringe players show what they can do and possibly give Ryan Esson some game time but at the same time Butcher needs to ensure we do enough to continue in the competition, something he would clearly like to accomplish after last seasons disappointment in the semi-final. It's a choice only he can make but Dundee must not be underestimated at any cost so I imagine the changes will be kept to a minimum. One or two players will need to get back on track and James Vincent is one that is in this category. He started the season impressively but has been conspicuous by his absence in recent games, seemingly disappearing into thin air as games go on, possibly a victim of the long ball as the game by-passes the midfield. Dundee will be without midfielder Kevin McBride who is suspended after being sent off against Forfar in the last round. Midfielder Jamie Reid and forward Leighton MacIntosh will not be in the squad through injuries although Nicky Riley could come into contention should he prove his fitness. The tricky wide player will be one to watch if he makes a start and he has proven himself against Inverness before, scoring in the league game at Inverness last season. Kirishima has this take on our tussle with Dundee......................enjoy So, for the first time this season, ICT have to come off a defeat in their upcoming match. The excellent reaction of the Inverness fans after the Aberdeen game will have shown the players and management that we are no fair-weather fans. Terry will be looking for a similar reaction from his players, but the third round of the League Cup will no doubt see a few SPFL teams fall by the wayside to supposedly “lesser” opposition. For Inverness, a tricky away tie against Dundee (the last team ever to be relegated from the SPL) is not a break from anything; it is business as usual. The team sheet for this game will be interesting reading as media reports differ. The BBC expects Terry to rotate his starting XI and there is no better time for a minibus load of fringe players to finally make their mark. The Sun, however, expects an unchanged side and Terry has stressed his team is keen to “bounce back” after “falling off the bar stool” and so a raft of changes would be unlikely on that logic. Ryan Esson desperately needs game time and, with Brill so far only signed up until January, he must be frontrunner to start. Torbjørn "Toby" Agdestein, with six appearances from the bench, could replace either James Vincent or Billy McKay. Danny Williams has also been used consistently as a substitute for Vincent and could potentially feature from the off. In all, there are at least 10 first-team players yet to start a game for ICT but who have the pedigree to start in a cup tie against lower league opposition. This, then, will be the most eagerly anticipated team sheet for some time. Terry will be reunited with old* Rangers pal and defensive team mate John Brown. Famed for his impassioned speeches of love for Rangers, Brown has no less than seven ex-Celtic players in his squad (and two Rangers players to bring balance to the force). Dundee are eight points off the lead in the Scottish Championship and have slipped to fourth position following some mediocre performances. One man has been brought in to change all that: Craig Beattie. Beattie spent four years with Celtic before moving on to West Brom for £1.25m in 2007 and then Swansea, Hearts, St Johnstone, Barnet before Dundee signed him up. Brown is a fan of out-of-favour Beattie, "A fit Craig Beattie will cause havoc for our opponents all season." The 29-year-old, 6ft striker, could make his debut against Inverness with a point to prove. Peter Macdonald, with six goals this season, is no less of a threat. Luckily for ICT's physio, hatchet-man defensive midfielder Kevin McBride (32) is suspended and old faithful Gavin Rae (35) might not be helped out by a sought-after sprightly Nicky Riley as the latter struggles with an injury. There are still scores to settle. Despite ICT having by far the better head-to-head record, it was just four years ago that Dundee broke Invernessian hearts in the Alba cup final in Perth. Only two players, Esson and Foran, will remember that day, but for the fans, cup games against Dundee have another edge to them. Will this be the year ICT lift a major cup? If they do, it all started here. *N.B. This sentence refers to Messrs. Butcher & Brown as former, ex-, alumni, parted-but-not-forgotten pals, and is not an attempt at subterfuge regarding the status of the aforementioned colleagues’ previous employer in any way shape or form and these views are my own and not necessarily those of CTO or any other platform in which this sentence may be viewed. Any such inference to the status of said club is purely accidental and shall not, will not, and cannot be construed as anything other than for the purpose of highlighting Auld Lang Syne-esque camaraderie.

The once famous versus the famous for once Inverness are heading East to face the once famous Aberdeen football club in a game where both clubs are coming off the back of excellent away wins last weekend. Aberdeen trounced Partick Thistle and Inverness ground out a result at Kilmarnock to set the scene for this weekends showdown at Pittodrie. Aberdeen have deployed a new tactic pre-kick off which looks suspiciously like the Celtic huddle although some of their players are trying to justify it's existence by renaming it the "Aberdeen Bosey". Aye well, I don't think the fans like it whatever they call it, best left alone methinks. Maybe that's why they call him Clangers. Derek McInnes has been quick to quell any thoughts about his resurgent team heading for second best in the SPFL but with Jonny Hayes and Gregg Wylde hitting form then it would be foolish to dismiss the threat that this Aberdeen side pose and they should provide our sternest examination yet, with our undefeated start to the season under threat. Any team with a player named Zola has to be taken seriously, even if it's not the real thing, but he did score his first goal for the club last week and extra training has sharpened him up mentally and physically. AJS has taken time off preparing for another gig with The Caspians and has this preview ahead of tomorrow's game. Enjoy. The alternative Derby Some might say Aberdeen was the nearest ICT had to a derby in the top flight before the introduction of Ross County. Now its just like any other away day but with the excuse of having a slightly longer lie in bed before hitting the road for another away day. Terry and the boys head down the A96 for what should be yet another tight and well fought affair against the Dons who are under new management with appointment of Derek McInnes over the summer. I must admit it was slightly surprising to hear he was returning North of the border to take over from Craig Brown. It seemed he was dealt a rather raw deal down at Bristol City who were already going into a rapid decline. Though not in fear of relegation an 8th place finish was far from satisfactory and the appointment of an ambitious young manager such as McInnes gives them a platform to build on. Typically the exit door at Pittodrie was well used over the summer market with 9 players departing including the likes of Stephen Hughes, Rob Milsom, and Rory Fallon all of whom promised so much yet flattered to deceive latterly. McInnes has recruited well however. Players such as Barry Robson and Willo Flood provide a wealth of experience and quality. Nicky Weaver is no stranger to Scotland as he had a brief but impressive stint at Dundee United in 2009 and anyone who follows The Football League would have seen Calvin Zola's impressive display for Burton Albion in last seasons League 2 play offs. The club also fended of interest over the border in top scorer Niall McGinn, a real statement of intent. One thing McInnes would like to correct during his tenure is Aberdeen's recent history against ICT. The tables have turned in form between the two sides. The Dons failed to win during all 3 encounters between the sides last season. They scrambled a late point at the beginning of last season in a frantic 1-1 draw that saw both sides go down to 10 men for separate but debatable incidents. A thrilling 3-2 encounter saw ICT come out on top at Pittodrie, a bullet header in typical fashion from Gary Warren either side of 2 strikes from Wee Billy sent ICT home happy that night, they were made to work as Josh Magennis hit a well taken double for The Dons to keep the score close. The Caley jags then ran riot with a resounding 3-0 win at home with Billy getting yet another double and Andrew Shinnie also getting on the scoreline. I must admit I felt the International break would kill our momentum with a lengthy journey down to Rugby Park last week. It wasn't pretty but the 3 points came back home on the bus via the chippy. Despite the lack of fluency on show it was reassuring to know that we don't have to play good football to win, and that can only make us stronger going into games knowing that grinding out results isn't a necessity but it is an option. Aberdeen have had an indifferent start to the season but last weeks result at Partick will have given them plenty of confidence as well so this will have both sides going into the game with plenty optimism. I'm trying to stay realistic here despite our lofty position. I really thought we had peaked last season but so far we are getting result after result and Terry and Mo seem to be putting everything into keeping the boys focused, and with another 3 points and more leverage over everyone above us (yes, literally everyone) up for grabs I'm hoping for more of what I've seen all season so far. McInnes will be looking to get Aberdeen back in contention, if not for Europe then at least a Top Six place so his side will not be pushovers in the slightest. I'm predicting that the game will be as scrappy at times as last weeks match at Kilmarnock but I'm just hoping that our form and togetherness will just about see us over the finish line. We also have boys like Curtis Allen and Marley Watkins ready for action now so with competition for places as high as its been in a long time that will also be extra incentive to keep everyone on their toes. AJS's Prediction :- As I said I get a feeling it wont be pretty tomorrow but I think we will just about edge it. I'm going for a 2-1 win and for Wild Bill to get another double. Inverness have no fresh injuries and should remain along the same lines, but Aberdeen will be without Russell Anderson, Chris Clark and Willo Flood, with Barry Robson and Niall McGinn looking to get back into the action if they can pass late fitness tests.