ABERDEEN host St Mirren on Sunday as both sides aim to build on encouraging starts to their season.
New Dons boss Jimmy Thelin became the first Aberdeen manager to win his opening five games after a 2-1 success at St Johnstone which followed a flawless Premier Sports Cup campaign.
The Swede appears to have made a big difference already and seems to be heading in the right direction, although it should be pointed out that Aberdeen are running with a painfully thin squad and his options are not the strongest from the bench.
But of course, Aberdeen's star man Bojan Miovski who, even when only really half fit, looked on a different level at times to the other 21 players at McDiarmid Park and his imminent departure to Girona is a massive loss.
St Mirren blew Hibs away last week in a 3-0 win and comfortably knocked out Icelandic side Valur from Europe too.
They were in Europa Conference League action on Thursday too and somehow snatched a 1-1 draw despite being outplayed for most of the game by Brann.
How the bookies view it: Dons look very short
Aberdeen are actually odds-on in places which seems incredibly short. You can get a touch of 21/20 with William Hill.
St Mirren can be backed at 14/5 with Boylesports. The draw is 12/5 with McBookie.com.
Recent head to heads: Saints have upper hand
St Mirren won two of the three games between the side last season and they were robbed in the other game which finished 2-2 in Paisley. They've also won on two pout of their last three visits to the north east.
Players to watch: Solker needs to step up
With Miovski on the brink of a big money move to Spain at the time of writing, Ester Solker will be the man the Dons hope can replace him. The Slovenian is no Miovski but has an eye for goal and is 29/10 to score anytime with Ladbrokes.
Saints captain Mark O'Hara scored a sensational volley against Valur last week and has the technique required to do that. He is 6/1 to score anytime with bet365.
Predicted line-ups.
Aberdeen have key midfielder Leighton Clarkson out and Dante Polvara is also out too from the same position. New signing Ante Palaversa could feature.
St Mirren should have a full squad to choose from after their European exploits.
Aberdeen: Mitov, Devline, Molly, Rubezic, McKenzie, Morris, Shinnie, Nilsen, McGrath, Solker, Miovski.
St Mirren: Balcombe, Taylor, Gogic, Fraser, Rooney, Boyd-Munce, Idowu, Adeniran, O'Hara, Ayunga, Olusanya.
Anything else catch the eye?
St Mirren showed no sign of a European hangover last weekend and they look like they are being seriously disrespected by the layers here.
They are a very well-coached side who have a decent squad by Premiership standards and have options off the bench here. And they certainly had the measure of the Dons last season.
Thelin has clearly taken his time to assess things rather than sign a heap of new players, but the result is they are very light in midfield with little options to change things once their two 32-year-old central midfielders run out of legs. And the loss of Miovski is huge.
Saints are worth a nibble to win, but the 4/5 on the double chance of a draw or a win with Ladbrokes looks a very solid bet indeed.
Both sides love to attack this season anyway and that usually leads to corners. St Mirren won 12 of their own against Valur and there were a staggering 19 in Aberdeen's win at St Johnstone.
And it should also hopefully lead to goals. Go for both teams to score and over 2.5 goals at William Hill at 6/4.
This Scottish Premiership match between Aberdeen and St Mirren will be played on Aug 11, 2024 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Aberdeen vs St Mirren prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
