THE honeymoon is well and truly over for both Ange Postecoglou and Stephen Glass, with both managers in desperate need of a win when Aberdeen host Celtic in this SPFL Premiership clash.
Parkhead fans were lapping up Postecoglou's swashbuckling style of football earlier this season but his high-risk tactics have started to backfire.
Like many punters I lumped on Leverkusen to win at Celtic Park on Thursday and they fully exposed Celtic's dodgy defence as they eased to a 4-0 victory and brought up one of Slip Tips' bets.
It's now just one win in five for the Hoops and that victory came against Championship side Raith Rovers in the League Cup. Postecouglou can't afford too many more slip-ups but he will take heart from the return of talisman Kyogo Furuhashi and skipper Callum McGregor in Thursday night's defeat.
The Japanese striker's movement made Celtic much more dangerous in attack and they will fancy grabbing a few goals against an Aberdeen defence that has been far from convincing.
The Dons have hit an even worse run of form, going eight games without a victory and losing their last three to Motherwell, St Johnstone and St Mirren.
Bad defending has been the main reason for their slump after a promising start under Glass this season. Aberdeen haven't kept a clean sheet since opening their league campaign with a 2-0 win over Dundee United so the visit of Celtic could be a thriller for armchair fans.
How the bookies view it
Despite their poor recent form, Celtic remain heavy favourites at a best 3/5 with Unibet while Aberdeen are as big as 11/2 with Bet365. The stalemate shouldn't be ruled out and is 16/5 at Betfair.
Recent head to head
Both Pittodrie meetings between these sides ended in draws last season, with a 3-3 thriller (below) followed by a 1-1 stalemate at the end of the campaign.
But that's about as good as it has got for the Dons in this fixture of late, with the Hoops unbeaten in 14 since a 1-0 loss at Parkhead on the final day of the 2017/18 season.
Players to watch
Lewis Ferguson got a lot of joy for Aberdeen against the Hoops last season, netting three times across the two Pittodrie meetings. The midfielder has also netted four times this term and takes the penalties so he appeals at 19/5 with Betfred for anytime scorer.
It's hard to look past Furuhashi (below) for a Celtic goal as he could have netted a hat-trick against Leverkusen in midweek. The Hoops livewire seems to get two or three excellent chances every time he plays and is 23/20 at Betfred for a goal at Pittodrie.
Anything else catch the eye?
Postecoglou is refusing to abandon his attacking philosophy and Aberdeen have also been pretty forward thinking under Glass so this could be a thriller. Both teams to score looks great value at evens with SportNation and that bet came up in both Pittodrie meetings last season. Over 2.5 goals also looks a good price at 9/10 with SBK, especially for accumulators.
Former Celtic skipper Scott Brown is going up against his old club for the first time and looks decent value for a card at 6/4 with McBookie. Hoops full-back Anthony Ralston also likes a tackle and he seems overpriced at 7/2 with Bet365 to be carded.
Celtic continue to rack up corners under Postecoglou and there was an average of 11 corners in their Pittodrie meetings with Aberdeen last term. That means over 10.5 corners stands a chance here at 5/4 with BoyleSports.
This Scottish Premiership match between Aberdeen and Celtic will be played on Oct 3, 2021 and kick off at 12:00. Check below for our tipsters best Aberdeen vs Celtic prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
