Preview:Aberdeen vs Motherwell - prediction, team news, lineups

Aberdeen and Motherwell will both aim to build on recent victories in the Scottish Premiership when they meet at Pittodrie Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The hosts defeated Kilmarnock 1-0 in their most recent league outing, while the visitors beat Dundee United 2-0 in their latest league fixture.

Match preview

Aberdeen have faced a challenging start to the 2025-26 season, with the Dons still managing only four victories after 17 matches played across all competitions.

Jimmy Thelin's side failed to win any of their first six Scottish Premiership fixtures, with five defeats and one draw, while they were also eliminated from the Europa League qualifying rounds and the Scottish League Cup during that period, as well as losing their opening Conference League clash against Shakhtar Donetsk.

Aberdeen eventually recorded their first league win of the term against Dundee on matchday seven, followed by a 1-0 win against St Mirren, but they were unable to maintain that momentum moving forward.

The Dons were handed a humiliating 6-0 defeat by AEK Athens on matchday two of the Conference League league phase, and that was followed by yet another league defeat, losing 2-1 to Hibernian.

Thelin's side have, however, been more positive in their last two matches, defeating Kilmarnock 1-0 in the Scottish Premiership before drawing 0-0 with AEK Larnaca in the Conference League - marking a good point against a side that have already defeated AZ Alkmaar and Crystal Palace this term.

The Dons will now look to build on those results when they face Motherwell on Sunday, and the Steelmen may be short on confidence after a devastating defeat in the semi-finals of the Scottish League Cup last time out.

Jens Berthel Askou's side qualified from the Scottish League Cup group stage after claiming three wins and one draw, followed by beating St Johnstone in the second round and Sunday's opponents in the quarter-finals.

Moving into the semi-finals, Motherwell were drawn against St Mirren, and the Steelmen were left stunned as they were heavily defeated 4-1 by the Saints.

Despite that disappointing defeat, Askou will be pointing to Motherwell's back-to-back wins in their last two league outings, with the hopes that his side can make it three wins from three on Sunday.

The Steelmen have had a stronger campaign than the Dons, sitting four points above Aberdeen in sixth place after claiming three wins, five draws and only two defeats in their first 10 games.

Furthermore, Motherwell have won each of their last two meetings with Aberdeen, including a 1-0 win in the Scottish League Cup and a 2-0 win in the league.

Aberdeen Scottish Premiership form:

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Aberdeen form (all competitions):

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Motherwell Scottish Premiership form:

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Motherwell form (all competitions):

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Team News

Aberdeen are expected to remain without Kristers Tobers until later this month due to an ongoing knee injury, while Dante Polvara and Alexander Jensen may both be doubts to feature on Sunday after coming off during midweek with suspected injury problems.

Graeme Shinnie and Emmanuel Gyamfi could come into the starting team in their absence, while the rest of the side that started in the draw against AEK Larnaca could feature.

Meanwhile, Eseosa Sule, Filip Stuparevic, Jordan McGhee, Sam Nicholson and Zach Robinson are all unavailable for Sunday's outing due to injury issues.

Tawanda Maswanhise and Apostolos Stamatelopoulos have both been in strong form in attack for Motherwell in recent outings, and the pair should both start here.

Aberdeen possible starting lineup:

Mitov; Lobban, Devlin, Milne, Knoester, Gyamfi; Armstrong, Shinnie, Aouchiche, Karlsson; Lazetic

Motherwell possible starting lineup:

Ward; Gordon, McGinn, Welsh, Koutroumbis; Fadinger, Watt; Maswanhise, Slattery, Charles-Cook; Stamatelopoulos

We say: Aberdeen 1-2 Motherwell

Motherwell have had Aberdeen's number so far this season, and while the Dons are in improved form heading into this one, we expect the away side to take their third win in this fixture already this term.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.