Celts Sight Dons For Six Straight

Celts Sight Dons For Six Straight
~~~~~~~~~~ Official TC Match Preview ~~~~~~~~~~


Reo Hatate scored twice to inspire the Bhoys to a 5-1 Scottish Cup win over St Mirren last week


Celtic Park, Glasgow
Saturday, 18 February 2023
15.00 GMT

The Hoops will be roared on at home this weekend, aiming for a sixth straight win in the League, which will extend the 9point lead at the top of the table - and co-incidently secure what will be a sixth straight win in this fixture - when Aberdeen visit on Saturday.

Celtic come into this game on the back of 17 wins in the last 18 league outings, and it's crucial to keep that momentum going for a number of reasons.

First and foremost, to keep the Hoops' title charge on track and the 3 points that come with it, but this is also the last match for Ange Postecoglou to oversee before he has to choose his starting lineup for the League Cup Final, adding just that little bit more importance to this Saturday's game.

Celtic have dominated matches against Aberdeen in recent times, having gone undefeated in this fixture since May 2018 - including picking up 16 wins in 19 meetings in that time.

No doubt the Bhoys will be looking for more of the same this weekend, following the previous encounters this season - a 2-0 win on the League's Opening day as well as a dramatic late winner by Callum McGregor sealed a 1-0 victory up at Pittodrie, straight after the World Cup break.


Oh, Here We Go!: Oh Hyeon-gyu nets his first goal as a Celt in the Scottish Cup win over St Mirren

Aberdeen have parted company with their former manager, Jim Goodwin, since the last time these sides met. In what was a catastrophic 6 week period the Dons managed just 1 win in 8 League outings and knocked out of both Cups, including an embarrasing Scottish Cup exit at the hands of sixth-tier minnows, Darvel, sandwiched between heavy league defeats at the hands of both Hearts (5-0) and Hibs (6-0), which proved to be the final straw.

They are now under the stewardship of former Celt, Barry Robson, until a permanant replacement is named, and they picked up a win in their last game a fortnight ago - a 3-1 win over Motherwell.

And if the Reds are going to start picking up points, they will be relying on forward duo, Duk and Bojan Miovski, who have contributed 24 league goals between them so far this campaign.

It is very clearly the away form that has caused so many of the headaches for the Dons this season. At home they have been impressive with 8 wins and seemingly scoring goals for fun while proving a tough match for any visitors.

However on their travels away from the North-East it has been a different story entirely, with just 2 wins and 1 draw to show for their efforts on the road - the last of those wins coming in October.


December: Captain Callum McGregor hit the late winner when the sides last met

By the Numbers​

• The Hoops are undefeated at home in all domestic matches since January 2021.

• Celtic are undefeated by Aberdeen since May 2018 & have won 16 of the last 19 meetings between these sides in that time.

• Ange Postecoglou's side will be looking for a 16th home win of the season to keep the 100% record at Paradise in tact.

• The Dons have not won away from Pittodrie in the League since October.

• Aberdeen have lost all 10 league games in which opponants have scored against them first.

Team News

Celtic will likely go into this weekend's game without Kyogo Furuhashi, as the striker's shoulder injury continues to be assessed. It was reported earlier this week that he had been absent from training, but that the lay odd is likely to be only a short one, with the hope the inform striker will be back ahead of the League Cup Final, next week.

If Kyogo is not fit, it could see countryman Daizen Maeda deployed through the middle - as he did for Japan at the World Cup - or possibly a first start for January signing Oh Hyeon-gyu.

Meanwhile Reo Hatate is also likely to return to the lineup, with the midfielder impressing when he came on as a second half substitute in the Scottish Cup match against St Mirren, last weekend.

As for Aberdeen, there have been no new injury worries reported ahead of the trip to Parkhead, however on-loan Liam Scales will be unable to take the field against his parent club, while Ross McCrorie remains suspended as he serves out his 2-match ban.​

Referee: Willie Collum

Collum has taken charge of 344 Premiership ganes in his career since making his debut at this level in April 2006, including 14 so far this season. The 44yr old has previously referee'd Celtic four times this campaign - the most recent being the 2-0 win over Killie in the League Cup Semi-Final, last month.

Celtic's Overall Record
M: 85 W: 63 D: 12 L: 10

VAR: Alan Newlands



~~~~ Head to Head ~~~~

Overall
P: 301 W: 184 D: 66 L: 51​

Last 5 Meetings
W W W W W

~~~~ 2022/23 Form ~~~~ ​

Overall
W W W W W ~ W L L L L

SPFL
W W W W W ~ W L L L W​