Tough Dons Test Awaits Celtic

Tough Dons Test Awaits Celtic
~~~~~~~~~~ Official TC Match Preview ~~~~~~~~~~


Reo Hatate in action when these sides last met resulting in a 5-0 win at the end of last season


Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen
Sunday, 13 August 2023
12.00 BST

Celtic head north to take on Aberdeen in tomorrow's lunchtime kick-off, keen to build upon the winning start to the season and follow up on the 4-2 victory over Ross County last week.

Even at this early stage in the campaign, Brendan Rodgers will have identified areas that the Hoops will need to improve on, while continuing to bed in new signings as the squad continues to evolve.

Despite the overall considerable success the Bhoys have had in recent times against the Reds, on closer inspection at Pittodrie the results have all too often proved to be tight affairs, with 2 of the past 6 visits resulting in draws, while the other 4 have been decided by a single goal margin.

For this very reason every trip to the North-East has to be taken so seriously. Indeed, despite dominating a poor Dons' side on the last visit in December, it took til the 97th minute for Callum McGregor to * a late, late 1-0 win for the Hoops.


Kyogo netted his first of the season and added an assist for O'Riley's goal v Ross County last week

Since former Celt, Barry Robson, took over as Aberdeen boss earlier this year, he has overseen a significant turnaround in the host side's league fortunes.

Indeed, while there was a clear and notable improvement of their results on the road, it was the form at Pittodrie that provided the catalyst for that, having lost just once at home this year.

With the Dons looking to get their season kickstarted after a drab 0-0 draw away at Livingston last weekend and the aforementioned shift in the Reds' home form and fortunes, this should prove to be a really good early season test to see exactly where Celtic are at this stage.


David Turnbull made the most of his opportunity in the season opener last weekend, scoring twice

By the Numbers​

• Celtic are undefeated by Aberdeen since May 2018 & have won 18 of the last 21 meetings between these sides overall since then.

• The Bhoys did not concede a single goal in any of the 4 meetings between these clubs last season. Should Joe Hart keep another clean sheet it will equal the longest such streak since 2011.

• The Hoops scored 12 goals against the Dons last season - including 9 in the last 2 matches (4-0 in Feb & 5-0 in May).

• Aberdeen have been undefeated at Pittodrie since St Mirren took all 3 points at the beginning of February - their only loss at home in the whole of 2023 thus far.

He's Back!: Brendan Rodgers' return resulted in a 4-2 win against Ross County

Team News

Celtic will be without Oh Hyeon-gyu for the next 4-6 weeks with calf trouble, joining Mikey Johnston in the Lennoxtown treatment room.

Brendan Rodgers did confirm earlier this week though, that Liel Abada is ok and is available, while also noting that Alistair Johnston and Marco Tillo have resumed light training but are not yet ready to be considered.

There has been multiple reports that Alexandro Bernabei was left out of the matchday squad for last week's League opener for disciplinary reasons, after arriving late for a team meeting. Whether there is further fallout or if the fullback will be restored to the squad for tomorrow remains to be seen.

As for the home side, Angus MacDonald and Liverpool loanee Rhys Williams, who both missed last week's game against Livingston, are expected to be sidelined once again.​

Referee: Kevin Clancy

This will be Clancy's first Premiership game of 2023/24 and his 199th career Premiership outing overall since making his debut at this level in April 2012. The Hoops will be hoping for a better outcome than the last time the 39yr old was in charge of a match involving Celtic, which resulted in the 4-2 loss to Hibs, back in May.

Celtic Overall Record with Clancy as Ref
M: 52 W: 38 D: 8 L: 6

VAR: Andrew Dallas



~~~~ Head to Head ~~~~

Overall
P: 303 W: 186 D: 66 L: 51​

Last 5 Meetings
W W W W W
​