If the form book counts for anything, Dundee United should have an easy time of it on Saturday in the Highlands.
The Tangerines walloped Motherwell 5-1 last Saturday, while opponents Inverness were on the wrong end of a 6-0 hammering at the hands of champions Celtic 24 hours later.
United therefore start as favourites up in the Highlands against John Hughes’ side but McNamara has cautioned that his players will not have things all their own way.
He said: “Yogi and the players will be hurting from the result from the last weekend. We beat them in the Scottish Cup 5-0, which was the week of their League Cup final and they were very defensive after that.
“So I’m expecting them to be more defensive and aiming not to give away any cheap goals.
“It’s only human nature that there will be a reaction. You saw Rangers in their semi-final against us after their Ramsdens Cup defeat they were like a wounded animal coming out to prove people wrong.
“Inverness won’t leave anything behind and they’ve still got a chance to go above us so they’ll be well fired up.”
McNamara is enjoying the season’s climax, even if he’s having to watch some of it from the stands.
“It’s an exciting time for us and a lot more enjoyable than the same time last year when we were in sixth position waiting for the games to finish and get the season over with,” he said.
“If we hadn’t won last week then it would be a different scenario but the fact we beat Motherwell and closed the gap to four points then, while it’s not in our hands, it’s still there for us to push.
“There’s huge interest from the fans in the cup final and the ticket sales have been great so far. Hopefully we can get a lot more and make it as close to a sell-out as possible.”
McNamara, who has almost a full squad to choose from apart from on-loan Newcastle defender Curtis Good, says that with the game against Inverness being swiftly followed by Tuesday night’s with Aberdeen, he may tinker with his starting XI.
However, he has a few variables to think about before making a firm decision.
He added: “Most of the players are OK apart from Curtis Good, who isn’t with us. The rest of the squad are fit.
“It’s a bit vague on what’s happening with Curtis. He’s doing a bit more work with the physio at Newcastle just to make sure he’s pain-free.
“We’ve missed him for a couple of months but we’ve got cover and it’s up to those who have the jersey to keep it by doing their jobs properly.
“Everyone wants to be involved and start the cup final. You expect a will to win regardless of the final but everyone is desperate to play on May 17 and it just gives you a few more headaches.
“I might utilise the squad with games Saturday and midweek but it depends how it goes. We’ve got lads maybe just a booking away from a suspension. We’ll see how it goes against Inverness before deciding whether to change it for Aberdeen or keep things the same.
“There was a period earlier in the season when we did change it and the boys got a bit of stick but we’ll do what is best for the team.
“The important thing for me is making sure everyone gets game time and if there are suspensions or injuries then others can come in and give me problems.”
One of those who came on last week and did their chances no harm was striker Brian Graham, who scored a fine goal against Motherwell.
McNamara said the former Raith man has been unfortunate this season, especially following the emergence of Nadir Ciftci.
The manager added: “We’ve scored 85 goals this season from all different areas and Brian has just been a bit unfortunate with the form of those in front of him like Nadir and how consistent he’s been.”