Chapter four of the Aberdeen v Celtic tale this season is shaping up to be every bit as unpredictable as the previous three have been.
The Dons held the Hoops to a 2-2 draw in their first meeting this term, before being walloped 6-0 at Hampden in the League Cup semi-final.
Jimmy Thelin’s side then pushed the champions all the way at Pittodrie in the last meeting, but were on the wrong side of a 1-0 scoreline in a keenly-contested encounter.
Predicting what is to come in Tuesday’s latest meeting of the teams this season is a near-impossible task.
I know this much – Aberdeen are in better shape heading to Glasgow than they would have been had this game been played a month ago.
But winning at Celtic Park? That’s a big ask for any team.
The fact the Dons are the only team not to lose there in the league so far tells you how formidable a task it is.
Add in the fact Brendan Rodgers will be expecting a response from his side following their 2-1 defeat by Hibernian at Easter Road on Saturday, and it only adds to the size of the task facing Thelin’s side.
Home debut to remember for new Don Dabbagh
Aberdeen may not be back to the free-flowing, confident, attacking team we saw in the first three months of the season, but they are working their way back towards being that team.
Saturday’s 1-0 win against Kilmarnock showed that.
It was not a sparkling display, but in terms of pushing until the final minute, Aberdeen’s desire won out against Killie.
Thelin will be thrilled to see that quality from his players as it was the hallmark of many of the results at the start of the campaign.
The defence looks stronger, they are carrying more of an attacking threat, and Oday Dabbagh announced his arrival in style by coming off the bench to score an injury-time winner on his home debut.
If there’s a way to endear yourself to your new club’s supporters, then the Palestine international striker certainly found it!
It was a very good finish, too – it looks easy but the knack of being in the right place, ready for a knockdown in front of the goalkeeper, is what every good striker needs.
His link-up play and movement also looked promising. And it will need to be, given the huge game facing side in Glasgow.
Three things need to go Aberdeen’s way in Glasgow
Celtic are the best team in the country. They’ve won the League Cup, will win the league and are the favourites to make it a treble by lifting the Scottish Cup.
Hibs showed they are not invincible, but back-to-back losses for the Hoops domestically are a rare occurrence these days.
Getting a result at Celtic – or Rangers for that matter – is achieved by accepting three things.
You have to defend well, hope they are not clinical, and your own team’s conversion rate has to be spot-on. There’s no other way.
Given Aberdeen managed to take a point from their last visit there, it should provide some cause for optimism.
Certainly, a point on the road again would be an excellent result for the Dons.
Could Ross County secure a top-six spot?
In the space of a couple of weeks Ross County fans have gone from looking over their shoulder to pondering a top-six place.
It’s not a fanciful notion either after a maximum six-point return from the last two games for the Staggies.
Safety will be Don Cowie’s primary thought after being in the play-offs in the last two years, but the fans will be daring to dream – and rightly so.
County did brilliantly on Saturday to bounce back from conceding first to Dundee to run out 3-1 winners in Dingwall.
The chances are coming their way now and the goals are beginning to flow. With six games to go until the split, County fans will be hoping their team are hitting their stride at the right time.
The next two games will be crucial. County make the trip to Perth on Wednesday to face bottom club St Johnstone.
The Staggies have moved 11 points clear of the struggling Perth Saints and also hit form on the road.
If they can secure another win at McDiarmid Park, then a 14-point lead on the bottom club will be pretty much insurmountable.
Then it’s back to Dingwall for the visit of Kilmarnock on Saturday, where another win would have them right in the mix with four games remaining against Hearts, Dundee United, Aberdeen and St Mirren before the split.
By then it could be all to play for.
Caley Thistle’s tale of woe may yet have a happy ending
The optimism in the Highlands extends across the Kessock Bridge, too, as Caley Thistle’s fight for survival reaches the home straight.
So much has happened at Caledonian Stadium this season you could pack three campaigns’ worth of incidents into this one, and we’re still in February.
But Saturday’s 1-0 win at Kelty Hearts has moved Caley Thistle back to within touching distance of League One safety.
There is still work to be done to achieve that, but if Scott Kellacher does keep the club up – despite a 15-point deduction for entering administration – it would be an incredible feat.
Surely it would be enough to give Scott the job on a permanent basis?
He’s picked a team who were on their knees up and shielded his players well from all the uncertainty which has gone on off the pitch at the club.
The sooner the club can consolidate in the division the better as far as I’m concerned.
It would allow the board and administrators to make decisions on whether the club will be sold or whether someone within the club is going to take control permanently.
Then decisions on the coaching team, budgets and playing staff can be made.
That’s sorely needed as soon as possible.
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