Last updated & checked: 10/08/2021
Celtic welcome Aberdeen to Parkhead on Saturday afternoon looking to extend their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership table. Despite the recent departure of Brendan Rodgers from the club, the Bhoys remain eight points clear of second-placed Rangers at the top of the table. Aberdeen’s hopes of the title now look to be gone, with the Dons in a distant third place, 16 points behind Celtic.
That does not mean that Derek McInnes and his team will have given up, though, and they will want to disrupt Celtic’s march to the title. The Dons head into this game on the back of a 1-1 draw in the Scottish Cup with the other half of the Old Firm, Rangers, last weekend. In their last league game, at home to struggling Hamilton Academical, they were beaten 2-0, a result which will have stung.
Celtic vs Aberdeen Prediction: Celts 2-0 Dons
Our prediction for this game is that Celtic will win it 2-0, but it will not be easy. The Bhoys have been given something of an emotional boost in recent times, with the appointment of former gaffer Neil Lennon as the replacement for Brendan Rodgers. Lennon won his first game in charge last weekend, when his team beat his former club Hibernian 2-0 at Easter Road. Aberdeen, in contrast, drew with Rangers in their own cup tie. Their recent defeat to Hamilton also suggest the Dons are a little fragile right now, so we think Celtic will win this game.
Our recommended tip: Celtic 2-0
Our featured tip for this game comes courtesy of William Hill, who are offering odds of 4/1 on Celtic winning the game 2-0. This bet matches our prediction for the result of the game, of course, and we think odds of 4/1 also offer good value to astute punters. Aberdeen have endured a frustrating couple of games, against Rangers last week in the Cup, and against Hamilton in the league, and a trip to Parkhead is something that they could really do without at the moment. We suspect that Celtic will be just too strong for the Dons this weekend.
Previous matches
This will be the fourth time that these two teams have played each other in all competitions this season. They have met twice in the league and once in the League cup final. The first meeting was in the Scottish Premiership on September 29 in Glasgow, and was won 1-0 by Celtic. The League Cup final on December 2 was also won 1-0 by Celtic. The second league match took place at Pittodrie on Boxing Day, with Celtic winning 4-3 in a real thriller of a game. Celtic winger Scott Sinclair scored a hat-trick that day.
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Players to watch: Scott Sinclair & Sam Cosgrove
Celtic’s English winger Scott Sinclair is the Bhoys’ top scorer this season, having netted 17 goals in 45 appearances in all competitions. Nine of those goals have come in the Scottish Premiership. He has also got a fine record against Aberdeen this season, having scored four goals against them. He scored the only goal of the game in the previous meeting between the teams at Celtic Park, and netted a hat-trick at Pittodrie on Boxing Day.
Aberdeen’s top scorer this season is their English striker Sam Cosgrove. The 22-year-old has struck 18 goals in 33 appearances in all competitions for the Dons in 2018/19. He was one of the Dons scorers in the 4-3 defeat to the Celts on Boxing Day at Pittodrie, so he knows how to find the net against the Hoops. If Aberdeen want to come away from the East End of Glasgow with a positive result, Cosgrove will need to play well.
