ABERDEEN can win the battle of the Scottish Cup semi-final flops against Hibs on Friday night.
Both the Pittodrie side and the Leith men bitterly disappointed last weekend and will be desperate to get back on track. And it's Derek McInnes' men who can come out on top.
The Dons have already won 1-0 at Easter Road this season in a match where they were far more superior than the eventual scoreline suggested.
When you compare the two squads a look at the Aberdeen bench compared with Hibs suggests they have more quality than Jack Ross' men.
Aberdeen choked yet again at Hampden last weekend but as limp as they were you can understand why against a Celtic side who showed glimpses of being back to their best ahead of their European disaster in midweek.
Hibs could take some time to get over losing to their bitter rivals, especially with Hearts being in the Championship.
The capital side have an awful record at Pittodrie too – you need to go back eight and a half years for their last win there and Aberdeen should be able to show they are the nearest challengers, if there is such a thing, to the Old Firm.
Falkirk can pile the pressure on Partick Thistle with a win at Firhill. The Jags have struggled this season and last week's injury time loss to Cove Rangers was their second defeat in three games in League One.
In a curtailed season they are already chasing the leaders in a league they were supposed to cruise to promotion.
It's fair to say it hasn't worked out this time round for Ian McCall and his former club Falkirk look like they are starting to find form.
They would have had three wins out of three if it hadn't been for a moment of madness from keeper Robbie Mutch in a game against Forfar and they played very well indeed in last week's comfortable win against East Fife.
Akeel Francis has grabbed two goals in his last three games and a trip to Maryhill won't faze the Bairns.
Dumbarton look a big price at 5-2 to win at East Fife. Jim Duffy's men have flown under the radar somewhat this season in League One but have two wins and a draw and have yet to concede a goal.
Players such as Ross Forbes, Nat Wedderburn and Adam Frizzell can all do a job at this level for sure and it seems strange the Methil side are such solid 3-4 favourites after just one win in five in all competitions this season. The Sons certainly look overpriced for the visit to New Bayview.
Recommended Bets
- Aberdeen (Fri) (13-10, McBookie) WINS
- Falkirk 6-4
- Dumbarton 5-2
In December 2020 we sadly 
