The stage is set for the master and the apprentice to go head to head as Aberdeen captain Scott Brown prepares to face his former club Celtic for the first time on Sunday.
Callum McGregor’s return to action for the Hoops in their Europa League defeat to Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday means the new Celtic skipper is set to face the former one when the Dons welcome Ange Postecoglou’s side to Pittodrie this weekend.
Celtic fans need no insight into what Brown brings to the table, having watched the combative midfielder dominate games for more than a decade during his Celtic Park tenure.
His role has changed in recent years but even at 36 his impact on matches is there in black and white.
Brown’s defensive qualities remain crucial
He has made more tackles, more interceptions and won possession for his team on more occasions this season than any midfielder who will be on the pitch on Sunday.
Perhaps those figures should not come as a surprise to anyone given his role is largely in front of the back four, especially when compared to his team-mates at Pittodrie.
But when matched up against his former club they show a player still contributing in a major way despite being firmly in the veteran stage of his career.
Brown’s reputation as a fierce competitor on the pitch has been earned over years of effort with McGregor playing a key role alongside his midfield mentor in the Celtic engine room.
Brown will be in the opposing team for the first time on Sunday but it is clear he has no intention on slowing down anytime soon.
He was rested on occasion in his final campaign at Celtic but the Dons captain his played in all but 44 minutes of his side’s league games so far.
The only game he did not start was the second game of the season at Livingston and he was summoned from the bench in the 44th minute with the Dons trailing 1-0.
His drive was crucial in a much improved second half showing as the Dons came from behind to win 2-1.
But following a run of eight games without a win it is clear Brown’s efforts alone have not been enough.
McGregor equally influential at Celtic
At Celtic, their run of form has been similarly poor with Thursday’s 4-0 home loss to Leverkusen their fifth defeat in eight matches.
McGregor missed four of those games and his side failed to win any of them.
The roles of both players is to help their respective teams control games and limit the opposition’s ability to cut through their sides.
But, as we’ve seen in recent games, there is little any player, or manager for that matter, can do when the goals being conceded are self-inflicted whether it be from individual errors or poor defending at set-pieces.
Both the Dons and the Hoops have cases to answer on that front but what has happened in the past cannot be changed.
It is what happens on Sunday which shapes the weeks ahead. Aberdeen and Celtic both need three points heading into the international break.
Brown and McGregor are going to be key to their hopes of getting it.