Your guide to the big game: Celtic v Aberdeen

Maybe it's too early to describe a match as a title decider, but it's been a generation since the last time anyone might dare refer to a Celtic v Aberdeen game in this way.  Sunday lunchtime's game is the biggest match in Scotland so far this season.  I doubt you''ll find a better or more comprehensive guide to this clash than this one from Dons diehard Martin Ingram. 


Celtic are billing it as 'The Big Match - Champion vs Challenger' - and come high noon on Sunday, we'll g et to find out if second placed Aberdeen can really beat the table-toppers in their own backyard. 

Let's not kid ourselves; a Dons win at Parkhead would still be a major upset. Incredibly, Celtic have won their last nineteen - NINETEEN! - home league games against Aberdeen.  However, the Reds come into this game on the back of their best run of form for a generation, so if there is going to be an upset it's as likely to happen this weekend as it ever will be.

The games so far...

The two previous encounters between Ronny Deila and Derek McInnes have been closer than you might think, albeit with Celtic shading a slight advantage across those games - they averaged 51% possession to Aberdeen's 49%, 14 shots on goal to 11, and 5 shots on target to 4.  However, such is the nature of fitba' that a couple of narrow 2-1 wins for the Bhoys still saw them bag all of the league points on offer.

Both sides were shadows of their latter selves when they first squared up at Parkhead last September - Celtic had failed to win in their previous four games, while Aberdeen were languishing in the bottom half of the table.  Celtic dominated the first half, grabbing an early goal when an Efe Ambrose shot deflected off Jason Denayer into the net. When Kris Commons later dispatched Callum McGregor's pull back to start of the second half, a Celts win seemed a formality. Instead, it inspired an Aberdeen fightback. Shay Logan's left-footed cross to the back post was headed across goal by Andy Considine (if their names had been 'Cafu' and 'Roberto Carlos' folk would have been raving about them...honestly!) for David Goodwillie to nod one back, but in the end the Hoops held out to win.

Commons in particular was unplayable that day, constantly dropping deep and proving difficult for the Aberdeen players to pick up. His goal that day, just twenty-five seconds into the second half, was a perfect example of how the movement of teammates can create space.  Considine had moved too far forward to press Ambrose in possession at right back, so the Nigerian passed down the touchline (and behind Considine) for the on-running Scott Brown, requiring Mark Reynolds to move out of central defence to meet him.  Having committed Reynolds, Brown passed back to Ambrose and McGregor ran into the empty space in the left-back area to collect Ambrose's next pass before pulling back to Commons (standing alone in the penalty box, with nobody within five yards of him) to score.

The return fixture at Pittodrie last November was a far more emotionally charged affair. It all started so promisingly for Aberdeen when Considine followed up his own long throw into the penalty box with a shot that was too hot for Lukasz Zaluska to handle; Adam Rooney pounced on the mistake to score. They couldn't even see the lead out to half time, though, as after the referee failed to award a free kick for a Charlie Mulgrew challenge on Niall McGinn, the resulting turnover of possession left to Anthony Stokes slipping in Stefan Johansen to clip in the equaliser.

With less than ten minutes left, a sending off for Celtic's Brown (for a second booking) provided a great opportunity for the hosts to press forward to victory. Instead, the game swung the other way.  The decisions to award the two consecutive corner kicks that ultimately led to the goal may have been dubious, but there was no excuse for the defending at the second corner, as Johnansen's inswinger was tucked away by an unmarked Virgil van Dijk from all of three yards.  That result saw Celtic hit top spot in the league for the first time and, with the exception of the three-week spell in January when Aberdeen ascended to the league summit, they have led ever since.

Celtic - the benefits of a having strong squad

Nothing quite underlines Celtic's strength, relative to their league challengers, quite like the size of their squad - not surprising given that they boast a player wage bill that is larger than that of the other eleven Premiership clubs combined.  Particularly noteworthy is the wealth of attacking options at their disposal. 

When the two sides first met at Parkhead, Deila started a front four of Stefan Scepovic at striker, with Commons playing in behind him as an attacking midfielder and McGregor and Aleksander Tonev playing on the wings.  At Pittodrie, they fielded entirely different personnel in those forward positions - John Guidetti was at striker this time, in front of a midfield three of Mulgrew, Stokes and James Forrest.  Yet as recently as their home game against Inter Milan in the Europa League, Delia deployed yet another quartet of attackers - this time with Leigh Griffiths at striker in advance of Johansen and the recently signed Dundee United duo of Stuart Armstrong and Gary Mackay-Steven.  They apparently rotate forward lines like an ice hockey team.

It's difficult to know what their lineup will be for Sunday, especially with the game being less than three days removed from their imminent appearance at the San Siro, but suffice to say they'll have plenty of options.

The rest of the side, in contrast, has seen a consistency of selection in recent weeks.  The Celtic skipper remains a mainstay in central midfield, while Israeli international Nirs Bitton has anchored his place in defensive midfield.  Virgil van Dijk has arguably been the best defender in Scottish football for a couple of seasons now, and is genuinely terrifying when he decides to stride forward in possession.  However, if Jason Denayer turns out to be more of an injury concern than Deila has been letting on ahead of the Europa League game, then there is still a chance of the accident-prone Ambrose playing in central defence.  If that is the case, then it's a different ballgame altogether.

In the Red corner...

Aberdeen's own team selections should by now be fairly predictable, especially given that Jonny Hayes is unlikely to be fit in time for Sunday's match.  Up front, Rooney became the Premiership's top scorer following his brace against St. Mirren; this week club legend Willie Miller called him is the most complete striker he's ever seen at the club.  Meanwhile, the main provider of goals this season has been McGinn, who has been the SPFL's top assister (...is that a word?) with ten assists.  He plays on the left, he plays on the right, but wherever he plays he's likely to be the player who will cause the Celtic defence most worry.  He caused Adam Matthews all sorts of problems at Pittodrie, hanging out on the left before cutting in to shoot off his right foot.  As for Peter Pawlett, his stand-out performance of the season so far came in that same fixture, as he tormented Scott Brown with his pace in attacking midfield and his constant bursts forward.  By the second half, Brown had resorted to repeatedly fouling Pawlett, clearly assessing that conceding the free kicks were a better option than allowing him to maraud the Celtic defence unimpeded.

The X factor, however, may be the new Don, Kenny McLean.  The ex-St. Mirren man will unquestionably be the best number seven on the park on Sunday.  (OK, technically, he'll be the only number seven on the park.  Interestingly, the iconic '7' hasn't been worn by a Celtic player in a competitive fixture for almost two years. The last player to bear the number seven on the back of a Celtic jersey was Miku at Ross County in March 2013. They lost 3-2 'n' all.)  He played a few sublime passes when he last turned out for the Dons against his old club, and may be the player most likely to unlock a tight Celtic rearguard that has only conceded a miserly thirteen goals from twenty-five league fixtures so far.

But arguably the stand out player of their season has been Ryan Jack, sitting in front of the back four. With Hayes out, it is likely that Derek McInnes will once again pair him with Willo Flood in the hope that their running, energy and passion can dictate the tempo of the game. If they can't, the Aberdeen defence could be in for a long day.  Aberdeen captain Reynolds has again been a model of consistency for the Dons this season, although it will be interesting to see if Ash Taylor returns to full fitness in time to start on Sunday or if McInnes will choose to stick with impressive loanee Don Daniels for the time being.

High stakes

If Celtic win on Sunday they will move six points clear, with a game in hand and a superior goal difference.  So, realistically, the title race will be over.  If Aberdeen can hold them to a draw, then they will remain three points and one game behind.  Celtic will still firmly control their own destiny, however with a backlog of fixtures to fulfil there would remain the potential for the Dons to capitalise on any late season slip ups.

However, if Aberdeen could somehow win on Sunday? Then, my friends, the title race will be well and truly on.


Martin Ingram (MI) is our Aberdeen Correspondent.  Legend has it that he is the tallest man in the Red Army.  He writes regularly for Aberdeen fanzine The Red Final..