ABERDEEN have never lost in the Scottish Cup to Kilmarnock in 103 years…but the Ayrshire side will surely never get a better chance to end that hex on Saturday in the quarter finals.
Killie are going great guns this season and proudly sit 14 points ahead of the Dons with Europe definitely their target.
And you can bet Rugby Park boss Derek McInnes would love nothing more than to increase the heat on the man who got rid of him at Pittodrie, Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack.
Cormack's latest appointment of 75-year-old Neil Warnock has turned into an unmitigated disaster – he's so far managed one win against the might of Bonnyrigg Rose at home in the Scottish Cup and no wins in six Premiership games.
In fairness to the veteran boss, he's inherited a shambles, but his policy of throwing his players under the bus has clearly gone down like a lead balloon too.
Losing two goals in the last two minutes of injury time at St Mirren last week sumed up their defensive ineptitude this season and to put it into perspective, Aberdeen haven't tasted a league win since two days into 2024 and are just four points off the relegation play-off spot.
How the bookies view it
For reasons that can only be home advantage and perhaps reputation, Aberdeen are clear and obvious favourites here at 11/8 with bet365.
Kilmarnock are 21/10 with Boylesports, but who knows how long that will last. The draw is 23/10 with bet365.
Recent head to heads
Kilmarnock well and truly have the Indian sign over Aberdeen this season – they've won all three games without conceding a single goal.
Players to watch
The goals have dried up recently for Bojan Miovski with the North Macedonian international not scoring for five games. However, he's the one player who would get pass marks in Aberdeen's season and he'll come good again. He is 15/8 to score anytime with bet365.
Marley Watkins was quietly released by Aberdeen in the summer after failing to make a huge impact at Pittodrie, but a switch to Killie has rejuvenated his career and he is on double figures for the season. He is 15/4 to score.
Anything else catch the eye?
It would be a major surprise if there's not a stampede to the bookies to back Killie at that price against a hugely underachieving Aberdeen team who appear to have lost all confidence and simply cannot defend.
Killie's two wins against the Dons, at Rugby Park admittedly, were extremely one-sided and McInnes appears to have the measure of his former side.
As Neil Warnock has helpfully pointed out to the rest of the league, this Aberdeen team are weak and easily bullied. Expect Killie to exploit that.
Aberdeen have conceded at least two goals in each of their last six league games and with the terrible trio of Stefan Gartenmann, Richard Jensen and Kelle Roos at the back and in goal, it's highly likely to happen again and the 2/1 at UniBet has to be backed.
Finally, anyone who saw Dons skipper Graeme Shinnie's reaction to losing that second goal at St Mirren last week will know how much his club's plight is hurting him. Expect him to try and prevent his side getting overrun on Saturday and he's a prime candidate for a card when the markets come up.
This Scottish Cup match between Aberdeen and Kilmarnock will be played on Mar 9, 2024 and kick off at 12:15. Check below for our tipsters best Aberdeen vs Kilmarnock prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
