Aberdeen host Rangers on Wednesday in a huge Premiership clash where they can pull further ahead of their fierce rivals.
The Dons are on a 15-game unbeaten run under Jimmy Thelin, and recorded their 14th win of what has been a superb opening sequence when they beat Dundee United 1-0 in the Granite City on Saturday.
Pittodrie is again sold-0ut (the third home game in succession) for Wednesday night’s meeting with Philippe Clement’s Gers.
Here are our three big talking points heading into the match…
Have Aberdeen super-subs earned starting slots?
Against United, two players made big contributions off the Dons bench – Shayden Morris and Peter Ambrose.
Morris, 22, a starter under Thelin at the beginning of the season, has had to be content with coming on as a substitute in recent league matches, and replaced Finnish wideman Topi Keskinen on the right wing at half-time on Saturday.
In the first period, Aberdeen – while in control of proceedings – had struggled to find a final ball into the area.
But Morris’ electric pace saw him get to the byeline and send a dangerous ball across goal pretty much every time he took possession in the second half – though he was unable to add to his five assists this season.
The key intervention of the evening came from another Reds replacement – Ambrose, who turned home his first top-flight goal for the club in the 84th minute to the win the game.
Might Thelin be tempted to start one or both players against Rangers?
Aberdeen will surely stick to their manager’s preferred 4-2-3-1 setup, so the fitness of Keskinen, as well as striker Kevin Nisbet – who missed Saturday with a calf complaint – will go some way to deciding the line-up
Will Ester Sokler retain the starting lone striker berth?
In other positions, there is the question of whether captain Graeme Shinnie and Leighton Clarkson come back into midfield, and whether it means no Ante Palaversa in the engine room or place on the left for Duk due to the consequential need to relocate chief playmaker Jamie McGrath…
Predicted Aberdeen XI v Rangers: (4-2-3-1) (right to left) Dimitar Mitov; Nicky Devlin, Slobodan Rubezic, Gavin Molloy, Jack MacKenzie; Graeme Shinnie, Sivert Heltne Nilsen, Topi Keskinen, Jamie McGrath, Duk, Ester Sokler.
Keeping momentum up for Saturday’s cup semi-final…
Wednesday’s clash with Rangers looks massive for two reasons.
One, second-placed Aberdeen can open up a nine-point gap on their third-placed visitors – piling further pressure on Gers boss Clement – as well as (at the very least) keeping pace with champions Celtic, who host Dundee on Wednesday.
Secondly, victory for the Dons would keep Thelin’s team undefeated and – following the sides’ 2-2 Parkhead draw two weekends ago – keep confidence sky-high going into Saturday’s Premier Sports Cup semi-final rematch between the duo at Hampden.
How will sell-out Pittodrie crowd welcome back Connor Barron?
While Rangers players never get an easy time at Pittodrie, midfielder Connor Barron – who came through Aberdeen’s youth academy before moving to Ibrox in the summer at the end of his Reds contract – will be public enemy number one on Wednesday night.
It will be likely be a whole different level of hostility from what the 22-year-old has experienced in any match during his young career.
But the reception received back in the north-east by one of Barron’s Rangers centre mid predecessors, former Dons skipper Ryan Jack, may have him feeling nervous.
With a raucous Red Army packing out Pittodrie during their team’s fantastic start to the season, it will be interesting to see whether Barron stands up to, or crumbles under, the intensity of their rancour.
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 Rangers game on Saturday is “Ambrose”.
You can find the form to enter your score prediction here (the deadline for match-day 10 entries noon on Wednesday):
Conversation