Both somewhat unexpectedly finding themselves in the relegation group of the Scottish Premiership table, Hibernian and Aberdeen will do battle at Easter Road on Saturday.
The hosts suffered a disappointing defeat to Livingston in the second game of the campaign's second phase last time out, while the visitors posted a victory to climb within two points of their eighth-placed opponents.
Match preview
© Reuters
After looking set to seal a spot in the Scottish Premiership Championship group ahead of the league's split, Hibernian quickly saw their form tail off, as they failed to win any of their last six games in the first phase.
After draws with Celtic, Dundee, St Johnstone and Dundee United, and a loss to Aberdeen, the Edinburgh outfit were condemned to the second group by city rivals Hearts, as Andy Halliday hit a brace alongside a Stephen Kingsley goal to fire the Jambos to a 3-1 derby win on home turf.
Following the disappointment of dropping out of the top six, Hibs again met Hearts in a second consecutive game, as the sides did battle in a Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden Park, and they were again on the losing side, triggering the departure of manager Shaun Maloney.
Now with David Gray back at the helm on an interim basis, the Easter Road side enjoyed a winning start to the second phase, in their bid to at least top the relegation group, as Ewan Henderson hit the only goal in an away win at St Mirren, before they were handed a defeat by seventh-placed Livingston last weekend.
They will now look to build a winning run heading into the end of the campaign, with the chance to move level on points with seventh-placed Livingston on Saturday if they can take all three points.
© Reuters
Aberdeen arrive looking to end the season on a positive note after a win last time out, having endured an underwhelming campaign in the Scottish top flight.
The Dons had a poor start to the campaign by their own standards, and the appointment of Jim Goodwin in February did not initially have the desired impact as they were condemned to the relegation group having won just one of the final seven games in the first phase.
Their struggles continued at the beginning of the second phase too, as a home meeting with Livingston resulted in a 2-1 defeat before Goodwin's men were able to make a return to winning ways last time out.
Aberdeen hosted basement side Dundee last weekend, a Lewis Ferguson's goal from the penalty spot made the difference, sealing his side's 10th league win of the campaign.
That saw them move within two points of Saturday's hosts, and, with three games left to play, a second-placed finish in the group is likely the best they can aim for, meaning they will be desperate for a second straight victory on Saturday to leapfrog Hibs.
- D
- L
- D
- L
- W
- L
- L
- W
- L
- L
- W
- L
- L
- W
- D
- L
- L
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Hibernian continue to battle through an unenviable list of injury issues, as key forward Kevin Nisbet is sidelined alongside the likes of Drey Wright, Christian Doidge, Kyle Magennis and Chris Cadden.
However, star defender Ryan Porteous will return to contention following a suspension, and he is likely to come straight into the back three.
In the absence of Nisbet, Elias Melkersen will be relied upon to lead the line, likely alongside Hull City loanee James Scott.
Aberdeen have no fresh injury concerns to deal with, and they could welcome important midfielder Ross McCrorie back to the starting XI after he served a suspension last time out.
He will have to fight for his place following their win, though, with Goodwin slightly changing shape for the Dundee game to accommodate attackers Marley Watkins and Christian Ramirez.
The latter has netted 10 league goals this term and should continue to play an important role in attack.
Hibernian possible starting lineup:
Macey; McGinn, Porteous, Hanlon; Clarke, Doyle-Hayes, Newell, Doig; Henderson; Melkersen, Scott
Aberdeen possible starting lineup:
Lewis; Ramsay, Gallagher, Bates, MacKenzie; Ferguson, McCrorie; Besuijen, Hayes; Ramirez, Watkins
We say: Hibernian 1-1 Aberdeen
In a game between two sides who have vastly underperformed by their own standards this season, we cannot quite pick a winner at Easter Road.
Hibernian have a badly hit squad and come in on the back of a disappointing defeat, while Aberdeen only just saw off the league's basement side last time out, and we opt for a low-scoring draw in a cagey affair as a result.
Top tip
Sam Varley
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Hibernian win with a probability of 47.84%. A draw had a probability of 27.3% and a win for Aberdeen had a probability of 24.88%.
The most likely scoreline for a Hibernian win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.77%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.59%) and 2-1 (8.83%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.68%), while for an Aberdeen win it was 0-1 (9.12%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 12.7% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a 1-1 draw for this match.
