Aberdeen face Hearts in the Premiership on Sunday and the on-form Dons could already strike a big blow to their visitors’ top-three hopes.
Jimmy Thelin’s currently second-placed Reds – with their 100% record to start the season, including six top-flight wins so far – will go 19 points clear of their rock-bottom rivals with victory at Pittodrie (that’s with a game in hand!).
The result would mean Thelin’s flying side would need to record seven fewer league wins than the Jambos over the remainder of the campaign for the Tynecastle outfit to even have a chance of finishing above them – something ex-Dons striker Duncan Shearer thinks wouldn’t be feasible. It would certainly be unlikely.
Finishing third would guarantee the Dons a return to the European stage next season -however, the way things are going under Thelin, the Red Army may be thinking a bit bigger than third…
Can Jimmy Thelin set new Scottish record for best dugout start?
In watching his team beat Dundee 2-1 at Dens Park last weekend, Thelin tied former Celtic gaffer Martin O’Neill for the best-ever start to a managerial job at a Scottish league club, with 12 successive victories.
Should the Dons beat Hearts, it will be a flawless 13 wins from 13 for the Swede, and he will set a new standalone mark.
Though doubters have pointed to six of Thelin’s early victories as Reds boss coming against lower-league opponents in the Premier Sports Cup, the fact a win over the Jambos would mean he is just TWO successes from equalling Aberdeen’s highest-ever run of wins should hammer home how remarkable the start to the campaign has been.
A 15-victory old Division One streak achieved under Eddie Turnbull almost saw the Dons beat a dominant Celtic side to the title in 1971.
Should the current squad hit the magic number 15 after the international break – which would mean beating the champions in the Premiership at Parkhead for win number 14 – title dreams (or at least aspirations of finishing above Rangers) would start to feel more vivid.
Will Conference League win make or break visitors Hearts?
Before then, though, Aberdeen must defeat Hearts – who had been having a torrid start to their season.
Last season’s third-place Premiership finishers are without a permanent manager, the axe falling on Steven Naismith after eight straight losses, and following a struggle to deal with the demands of European and domestic commitments. Something Aberdeen experienced under Barry Robson last season.
However, Jambos caretaker gaffer Liam Fox – formerly a coach with the Dons – led the Gorgie side to a thrilling Uefa Conference League win over Belarusian outfit Dinamo Minsk on Thursday night, despite an arduous journey to play their rivals on neutral territory in Azerbaijan.
Hearts secured the victory in stoppage time via an unlikely header from Yan Dhanda.
They will now fly directly to the Granite City in an attempt to reduce the travel-strain on their players before Sunday’s Premiership clash with the Dons.
However, will they arrive with tired legs ready to be exploited by Thelin’s high-pressing, quick-attacking Reds? Or will the visitors be emboldened after securing three admirable European points?
Will Duk play?
DukWatch is a fixture of the Aberdeen pre-game talking points at present after his return from self-enforced summer exile.
The attacker was included in a Thelin match-day squad for the first time for the win at Dundee, but did not come off the bench – even though top-scorer Pape Gueye was not available due to injury.
It has since been confirmed forward Gueye will be missing until January after suffering a serious quadricep tear, which has surely moved Cape Verde international Duk up in boss Thelin’s thoughts.
But enough be in the starting line-up on Sunday? Or, more likely, to be used as an impact substitute? Time will tell…
Enter our new Dons Score Predictor League!
We have launched our new Dons Score Predictor League, where readers can win £100 for guessing the correct scoreline for each of Aberdeen’s Premiership matches in the 2024/25 season.
As well as a correct result for each league fixture seeing contestants entered into a £100 cash draw, a right answer will also earn them 1 point in our Dons Score Predictor League table – with the highest points scorer over the campaign winning a whopping £1,903.
The Dons Score Predictor League is open to Evening Express print readers and our online subscribers.
To ensure you’re a paying reader, you need to know the upcoming game password to fill in the entry form – which will be included in this pre-game talking points piece for each Premiership match.
The password for the Aberdeen v Hearts game on Saturday is “Mitov”.
You can find the form to enter your score prediction here – with the deadline for match-day seven entries noon on Sunday.
Our writers’ Aberdeen v Hearts score predictions…
Ryan Cryle: Aberdeen 3 – Hearts 0
Paul Chalk: Aberdeen 2 – Hearts 1
Sean Wallace: Aberdeen 2 – Hearts 0
Paul Third: Aberdeen 4 – Hearts 1
Callum Law: Aberdeen 2 – Hearts 0
Andy Skinner: Aberdeen 3 – Hearts 0
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