Celtic, looking to bounce back from their recent defeat to Hibernian, will welcome a resurgent Aberdeen to Celtic Park on Tuesday night in the Scottish Premiership.
The hosts suffered just their second league defeat of the term last time out, while the visitors secured consecutive league wins for the first time since October.
Match preview
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Celtic are enjoying another dominant year in Scottish football, having already lifted the Scottish League Cup trophy, still in the fight for the Scottish Cup and boasting a significant 13 point lead at the top of the league.
However, the Bhoys have experienced a challenging time in the past weeks, falling to three defeats in their last eight games across all competitions - more losses than they had suffered in the opening 35 fixtures of the campaign.
Two of those defeats came in the Champions League, 4-2 to Aston Villa in the league phase and 2-1 to Bayern Munich in the first leg of their knockout playoff round tie, while they also suffered a heartbreaking elimination from Europe's elite competition as Bayern scored in the 94th-minute of the second leg to secure a 3-2 aggregate win.
Brendan Rodgers would have been eager for his side to rebound from their European elimination against Hibernian, but the Bhoys suffered consecutive defeats for the first time since September 2021, falling 2-1 to Hibs.
While their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership remains intact, due to Rangers also losing at the weekend, Rodgers will be desperate for his side to return to winning ways against the Dons.
Aberdeen have appeared as an easy opponent in the past weeks, but the Dons have seemingly returned to form with three consecutive victories heading into this one.
After losing just one of their first 18 matches in all competitions, Jimmy Thelin's side went on a dismal run, failing to secure a win in their next 12 games and enduring a 14-match winless streak in the league.
The Dons finally ended their winless run in the Scottish Premiership by beating Dundee 2-1, and they have followed that up by beating Kilmarnock 1-0 last time out, securing their first back-to-back league wins since October.
Those victories have lifted Aberdeen to third in the standings with 41 points from 27 games, after 12 wins, five draws and 10 losses, and Thelin will be hoping to continue their winning run to help strengthen their top-six status.
Team News
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The hosts will remain without the services of James Forrest, who has been ruled out since December due to a foot injury that he is not likely to return from until March.
Paulo Bernardo is also set to be sidelined for this match after sustaining an ankle injury in the victory against Raith Rovers earlier this month, meaning Reo Hatate, Callum McGregor and Arne Engels are likely to start.
Elsewhere, Jota and Jeffrey Schlupp replaced Adam Idah and Greg Taylor at half-time after disappointing first-half performances in the defeat to Hibernian, and both may start in this one.
As for Aberdeen, Dante Polvara, Ester Sokler, Gavin Molloy, Jack Milne, Jamie McGrath and Vicente Besuijen will all remain on the treatment table due to ongoing injuries.
New signing Oday Dabbagh came off the bench to score the winning goal in the 91st minute of their victory against Kilmarnock, and the forward could be in line for a start here.
Celtic possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Trusty, Schlupp; Hatate, McGregor, Engels; Kuhn, Maeda, Jota
Aberdeen possible starting lineup:
Mitov; Jensen, Tobers, Knoester, Mackenzie; Nilsen, Palaversa; Keskinen, Gueye, Okkels; Dabbagh
We say: Celtic 2-1 Aberdeen
While Aberdeen will be boosted by their recent return to form, Celtic have not lost at home in the league this term and will be highly motivated to end their poor run of form, leading us to expect a home victory.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
