ABERDEEN will look to move a whopping nine points clear of Rangers in the Scottish Premiership as they welcome the Glasgow side to Pittodrie on Wednesday night in what should be a thriller.
Jimmy Thelin began the campaign by winning each of his opening seven Scottish Premiership matches as Dons boss before coming back from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Celtic Park against champions Celtic.
The Dons then followed up that impressive draw by clinching a late winner at home to Dundee United on Saturday, a result that maintains their 100% home record and more importantly, sees them remain level on points with Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
Rangers followed up their 4-0 thrashing of FCSB in the Europa League on Thursday night by edging past St Mirren 2-1 at Ibrox on Sunday afternoon.
Whilst The Gers have been faultless at home in the league this term, Phillipe Clement’s men have won just one and scored just one goal across their opening four road trips (W1-D1-L2), including a 1-0 loss at Kilmarnock in their last away day.
How the bookies view it: Dons look big
Despite playing at home and starting the season far better, Aberdeen come into this clash as underdogs, with Betfred offering odds of 12/2 5 a home win.
The visitors are priced up at 11/10 at the likes of William Hill to head back to Glasgow with all three points, with the draw at 13/5.
Head to head:
The meetings in the Premiership proved to be pretty even last season, with both sides winning once, whilst the only fixture at Pittodrie finished 1-1 thanks to a late James Tavernier penalty.
James Tavernier also scored the only goal in the League Cup final last December between the pair to clinch Rangers their first League Cup trophy since 2011.
Players to watch: More McGrath Magic?
Jamie McGrath has already scored twice and got six assists for The Dons in the Premiership this season – including a stunning through ball for Ester Sokler at Celtic Park – and will look to cause Rangers problems.
I pointed out Vaclav Cerny to score at 39/20 on Sunday, and the Czechia winger delivered, grabbing the winner. That’s now five goals in three games for the on-loan winger, and he is priced at 3/1 at Bet365 to continue his goal-scoring form.
Probable line-ups
Top-scorer Pape Gueye remains out for The Dons, but captain Graeme Shinnie should come back into the starting 11, whilst match-winner Peter Ambrose may be pushing for a start.
James Tavernier and Cyriel Dessers began the match against St Mirren on Sunday on the bench, but both came on in the second half – with the Nigerian setting up the winner – and should come back into the starting 11.
Aberdeen: Mitov, Devlin, Rubezic, Molloy, MacKenzie, Nilsen, Shinnie, Morris, McGrath, Duk, Sokler
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Balogun, Kasanwirjo, Jefte, Barron, Raskin, Diomande, Bajrami, Cerny, Dessers
Anything else catch the eye?”
The mood around the supporters of both of these clubs couldn’t be much different right now, with Aberdeen absolutely flying under Jimmy Thelin, whilst Rangers have been unconvincing in most of their encounters, especially on their travels.
Given the contrasting form and mood around both clubs, the price for a home win is simply too big – and with The Dons netting 2+ goals in 7/9 (78%) of their league outings – I’m also happy to back them to back another double against an unconvincing Gers defence despite the number of clean sheets they have racked up.
Cards tend to flow in this fixture, and there are plenty of candidates on both sides, with Nilsen, Shinnie and Rubezic the most likely to be carded for the hosts and Raskin, Jefte and Propper for the visitors.
This will be Connor Barron’s first return to Pittodrie since leaving The Dons for Rangers in the summer, and he will get a hostile reception from the hosts, which may lead to him picking up a card.
This Scottish Premiership match between Aberdeen and Rangers will be played on Oct 30, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Aberdeen vs Rangers prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
