Hoops After Eight Straight at Dons
~~~~~~~~~~ Official TC Match Preview ~~~~~~~~~~


Make Tam's a Double: Rogic netted twice in a sparkling performance aganst Motherwell


Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen
Wednesday, 9 February 2022
19.45 GMT​

Celtic will be looking for their 8th consecutive victory, and a 16th win in 17 games across all competitions, when they make the journey to the North-East and take on Aberdeen at Pittodrie on Wednesday evening.

With so many fixtures continuing to come so thick and fast, there is little time to get carried away with past performances as attention is all too quickly having to be turned to the next so soon. And this week is no exception.

After another masterclass outing against Motherwell on Sunday, the Bhoys will be riding high on confidence going into Wednesday, and coming up against an Aberdeen side that has been struggling for form in recent times.

The Dons are currently sitting in 7th place and have managed just 5 points in their last 7 games, and their only win of 2022 thus far coming in the Scottish Cup.

While the host's apparent dip in form may seem to be building pressure on Dons' boss, Stephen Glass, it should be noted that it is largely based on their Away form, with 5 of those 7 games being away from Pittodrie.

So while, on paper, Aberdeen appear to be struggling, it is also little misleading, because their form at home has been very impressive indeed, winning 5 of their past 6 games, and the one blemish on that record coming when they played out a 1-1 draw with Celtic's city and league title rivals.

So there can be no room for complacency going into this match against a host side who are hungry, determined and desperate to get their season back on track and looking to their strong home record for inspiration.

And as manager Ange Postecoglou made the point that the emphasis must not simply be a matter of relying on past deeds and a sense of momentum - because it is not. Only through the continued hard work on the training pitch and preparedness that the standards have been maintained.

Celtic must be at their best and most ruthless. That is the only way and in Ange Postecoglou, his staff and the entire squad knows that every game between now and the end of the season is critical.


Abada shows his appreciation for Hatate's assist after opening the scoring on Sunday

Home and Away​

The form of Aberdeen at home and Celtic away really does underline how the 2021/22 season has shaped up.

The Hoops have undoubtedly put their away day troubles to bed under the stewardship of Ange Postecoglou. Since the beginning of October - ironically the last visit to Pittodrie - Celtic have won 11 of the 13 games away from Celtic Park in all competitions, and have only lost one of those - away to Bayer Leverkusen over in Germany in November.

Putting that into context, prior to the last visit to Pittodrie in October, from mid-February until September inclusive, Celtic played 12 games away from Parkhead and won just one of those - against FK Jablonec in Europa League qualifying.

It's truly quite remarkable the turnaround when considered from this perspective.

And it is this shift in form on the road as much as anything that has really proven the catalyst for Celtic's revival, not only climbing up the league, but in the Cups and impressing in Europe also, while on their travels.

As for the hosts, any aspirations they have for this season looks likely to rest on their continued fine form at Pittodrie and making the most of this, exemplified by winning 5 of their last 6 games in all competitions and they have more home games still up their sleeve than any other team in the top flight, so will want to continue that form and make the most of that home advantage.

The contrast between the Dons' home and away record would suggest, for whatever reason, that they must be considered a very different proposition at home from the side that they have struggled on their travels. And even though Celtic triumphed on their last visit to Pittodrie, back in October, they were only able to take a share of the spoils away on the two previous matches there.

If there is a stat that does point in Celtic's favour, it is that first goals have proven to be of critical importance this season for the Hoops. Tellingly, Celtic have won 19 of the 20 times when they have scored first in the league - including winning all of the 9 times on their travels.

And no team has conceded the first goal in the league more often as Aberdeen has, with 17 times in 24 games that they've played thus far.



Daizen Maeda provided the icing with Celtic's 4th goal against Motherwell

Team News

Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that once again all of the players involved with the match at the weekend made it through and will once again be available for selection.

One of the strongest aspects of the Australian manager's skillset has been the superb utilization of the squad that slowly seems to be becoming fully fit, which has kept things fresh, sharp and dynamic, while at the same time proving to be most difficult for opposition to plan against ahead of time. So expect maybe two or three changes again from the side that started against Motherwell on Sunday.

There is more good news, with the revelation that Yosuke Ideguchi has resumed full training with the squad. The Japanese International has been out since a horror tackle in the Cup game against Alloa Athletic, and while Postecoglou suggested he may not be quite ready for this game, Ideguchi should be in contention for the next round of the Scottish Cup against Raith Rovers this weekend.

Elsewhere David Turnbull and Kyogo Furuhashi continue their rehab, and while not quite back in full training with the squad, are nearing that point with a look of a possible return to action later this month.

For Aberdeen, Adam Montgomery, who made his debut at the weekend, is unavailable to play against his parent club and it is possible that Gary Woods could continue between the sticks, depending on the situation with regular Number 1, Joe Lewis. The English goalkeeper was absent in the last match due to dealing with an illness and depending on the basis of his status could potentially make a return.



~~~~ Head to Head ~~~~

Overall
P: 298 W: 181 D: 66 L: 51​

Last 5 Meetings
W W D W W

Away v ABN
W D D W W

~~~~ 2021/22 Form ~~~~ ​

Overall
W W W W W ~ L D L D W

SPFL
W W W W W ~ D L D L W

CEL Away ~ ABN Home
W W W W D ~ W D W W W​