Final facts and figures

30: Dundee United and St Mirren face off in today’s IrnBru Cup final, 30 years after their only previous cup final meeting. The 1987 Scottish Cup is more fondly remembered in Paisley than Dundee, with Saints recording a 1-0 victory thanks to an extratime goal from Ian Ferguson. St Mirren are currently six places below United in the Ladbrokes Championship but will be hoping to take inspiration from the 1987 side, who finished four places behind the Tangerines in the Premier Division but still triumphed in the final.

1: Dundee United would become the 16th different club to win the Irn-Bru Cup if they are successful today. The Tannadice side could become the fourth consecutive first-time winners after Raith Rovers in 2013-14, Livingston in 2014-15 and Rangers last season. This is just the second time United have entered the tournament – their previous foray in 1995-96 saw them reach the final, only to suffer a shock defeat by Stenhousemuir on penalties. Current manager Ray McKinnon was in the United side that day and will be looking to make amends this time around.

2: St Mirren are aiming to win the Challenge Cup for the second time, having previously won the trophy back in 2005-06 with a 2-1 victory over Hamilton Accies. Simon Lappin gave Saints the lead, Scott Tunbridge equalised for Accies then John Sutton netted a late winner to take the trophy back to Paisley. Sutton has scored four times for Saints in this season’s competition. The Buddies also reached the final in 1993-94, but were beaten 3-0 by a strong Falkirk side at Fir Park.

10: United have held the upper hand in the recent meetings between these sides, with seven victories in the last 10 meetings. Saints have beaten United twice in the same period, but did come out on top the last time the sides met, picking up a 3-2 victory in a Championship fixture last midweek. Recent encounters have typically been pretty high-scoring – the sides have averaged 3.5 goals per game over the last 10 meetings.

5: Fir Park will host the Challenge Cup final for the fifth time, making it the second most common venue for the final behind McDiarmid Park in Perth. Motherwell was a popular choice in the early years of the competition, playing host to three of the first four finals, but this will be the first since 1997-98. Dundee United have recorded six wins in their last eight visits to Fir Park, while Saints have not won there since February 2011.