Aberdeen and Celtic come together at Hampden Park on Saturday afternoon in the first of the Scottish Cup semi-finals that are taking place over the weekend.
The Dons will be looking to make their first final in this competition since they were defeated 2-1 by Saturday's opponents in 2016-17, while the Bhoys are hoping to make it back-to-back Scottish Cup triumphs.
Match preview
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Aberdeen have had a rather disappointing time in the league this season, dropping from a third-place finish last year to a ninth-place finish in the first phase of the league this time around, leaving them competing in the relegation group for the remainder of the campaign.
They started this season under the management of Barry Robson, but a series of disappointing results saw the manager dismissed in January, with Neil Warnock stepping in while the board looked for a more permanent option.
Warnock failed to win any of his six league games in charge of the team, with his only two victories coming in this competition against Bonnyrigg Rose and Kilmarnock, eventually stepping down from the role just hours after the latter.
Peter Leven has since taken interim charge of the club, winning two and drawing three of his six matches in charge so far, and will remain at the helm until newly-appointed permanent boss Jimmy Thelin takes over the role in June.
Leven, who will step back into an assistant role thereafter, will be hoping he can create history in his short time as Aberdeen manager by leading the side to Scottish Cup triumph, something they have not achieved since their 9-8 penalty victory over Celtic in 1990.
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As for the Hoops, the most successful side in the competition's history are hunting down their 42nd Scottish Cup trophy, making it back-to-back wins in the process.
Last campaign saw Celtic win their second successive Scottish Premiership title and their 11th in 12 years after Rangers famously returned to champion status in 2020-21.
A 3-1 victory over Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Scottish Cup final also saw them deliver their first league and cup double since 2019-20, which was their fourth straight year of achieving that feat.
Brendan Rodgers, who was in charge of the side for those doubles in 2016-17 and 2017-18, will now be looking to repeat the achievement once again this season with his men currently leading the league table by three points and en route to another Scottish Cup final.
Celtic have not lost to Aberdeen in any competition since a 1-0 defeat in May 2018, while they are unbeaten in this competition against the Dons since a 2-1 loss in February 2014, leaving them with plenty of confidence to reach yet another final.
Team News
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Aberdeen are set to be without Slobodan Rubezic after the defender suffered a knee injury in a 1-1 draw with St Johnstone in January that is expected to keep him out until later this month.
Captain Graeme Shinnie will also be unavailable as the midfielder is set to serve a suspension following a yellow card in the previous round against Kilmarnock.
Bojan Miovski is likely to be vital in any potential victory for his side, with the forward netting 23 times in 47 games so far this season.
As for Celtic, they are set to be without three of their players for this one.
Daizen Maeda will be on the treatment table after sustaining a hamstring injury in his side's 3-3 draw with Rangers at the beginning of the month, while Liam Scales is also out following an injury in the same game.
James McCarthy has become the forgotten man at Celtic Park, failing to make an appearance for the senior team since October 2022, and the midfielder is out with injury for this one.
Aberdeen possible starting lineup:
Roos; Devlin, Gartenmann, MacDonald, Mackenzie; Barron, Duncan; McGrath, Clarkson, Lopes; Miovski
Celtic possible starting lineup:
Hart; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Nawrocki, Taylor; O'Riley, Iwata, Hatate; Kuhn, Furuhashi, Hyun-Jun
We say: Aberdeen 1-3 Celtic
Celtic have been fantastic this season, only losing on four occasions in domestic competition, while they have not lost to Aberdeen in 24 games across all competitions, and we expect that run to continue with a Celtic win here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ellis Stevens
