Preview: Aberdeen vs. Hearts - prediction, team news, lineups

Aberdeen were able to hold Rangers to a draw in their most recent outing, and the Dons will be keen to continue their momentum from that result on Saturday when they host Hearts.

The visitors remain the only undefeated team in the Scottish Premiership, but after drawing for a third consecutive fixture on Wednesday night, the club will be keen to get back to winning ways.

Match preview

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Aberdeen currently sit in eighth place, just five points above the relegation zone, which places a lot of importance on this particular fixture.

However, the Dons have managed to pick up results during their previous two outings, having defeated Hibernian 1-0 last weekend, which they then followed up with a 2-2 draw with league leaders Rangers.

Few teams have been able to take points from the Gers this season, which made the draw an impressive one; however, there will have been frustrations as Aberdeen took a two-goal lead in this game.

Christian Ramirez and Scott Brown provided a perfect start as they went ahead in the opening 16 minutes, but a strike from Alfredo Morelos and an 81st-minute penalty by James Tavernier saw Steven Gerrard's men end up getting back into the fixture.

Stephen Glass will now be keen for his team to continue their recent form in this fixture, which could see them climb as high as fifth, potentially pulling them away from the relegation spots.

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However, in order to pick up three points, Aberdeen will have to become the first team to defeat Hearts in the Scottish Premiership since they returned to the division this season.

The Jam Tarts have reacted brilliantly following their promotion, adapting to the top flight with confidence, although they are currently stuck in a three-game run without a win.

No club has drawn more games than Robbie Neilson's squad, who have shared the spoils six times already in this campaign and that is a situation he would like to see change.

Hearts are only three points behind Rangers at the moment, with a victory having the possibility of putting them on top of the league by the end of the weekend.

But after a trio of 1-1 matches, the key for the visitors will to simply be more ruthless in order to ensure they take all three points at the weekend.

Team News

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Aberdeen opted for a back five against Rangers on Wednesday night and that could be something that Neilson chooses to adopt again, with Brown playing a more defensive role for this club.

While Joe Lewis was able to overcome a broken nose to play in goal, Calvin Ramsey and Declan Gallagher were both unable to feature due to injuries.

Hearts were dealt a major blow in midweek when Liam Boyce was unable to feature due to a calf problem and their leading scorer is set to be a doubt once again this weekend.

Armand Gnanduillet is likely to retain his place in the team because of that, leading the line for the Jam Tarts, while Josh Ginnelly will also be hopeful of keeping his spot in the starting XI after scoring against St Johnstone.

Aberdeen possible starting lineup:
Lewis; Campbell, McCrorie, Brown, Bates, Ojo; Hayes, Hedges, Ferguson, McGeouch; Ramirez

Hearts possible starting lineup:
Gordon; Kingsley, Halkett, Souttar; Halliday, Baningime, Devlin, Smith; Ginnelly, Gnanduillet, Woodburn

We say: Aberdeen 1-1 Hearts

Both teams head into this game on the back of a draw and that could be a likely outcome for this particular fixture as each club has lacked the ruthless edge to kill a game as of late.

Aberdeen do have confidence at the moment, but that is going to be met by the undefeated Hearts who are difficult to break down, which is why they might share the spoils.

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