Preview: Aberdeen vs. Rangers - prediction, team news, lineups

Scottish Premiership leaders Rangers restart their season after the winter break with a trip to the Pittodrie Stadium where they will face sixth-placed Aberdeen.

The visitors are currently on a nine-game winning run in the league, while Aberdeen entered the break in their best form of the campaign having won four of their last five outings.

Match preview

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Aberdeen ensured that they remained in the top six with a 2-1 victory last time out against Dundee FC, who did take an early lead in that game, but the home side quickly equalised through Ryan Hedges.

Lewis Ferguson netted his fourth goal of the season to complete the turnaround for Stephen Glass's side, meaning that in the end their dominance of possession paid off.

The Dons will be glad to be on home soil in this encounter, having collected more than double the amount of points at the Pittodrie Stadium as they have managed on their travels, with better form in front of goal and a stronger defensive record on their own patch.

Dundee United are currently applying the most pressure to Glass's side with the seventh-placed team only two points behind Aberdeen, but the Dons will also be looking to put themselves in a more secure top-six spot as they are only two points behind Hibernian, who sit in fifth.

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Giovanni van Bronckhorst's side could not enter this game in much better form, and they have put themselves in a strong position to retain their Scottish Premiership title for the first time since 2011, currently sitting six points clear of rivals Celtic.

Rangers extended their winning run last time out when they hosted St Mirren, and it was a comfortable outing for the league leaders who limited their visitors to zero efforts on goal, with goals from Scott Wright and Alfredo Morelos sealing the 2-0 win.

Not only was that another three points on the board for Rangers, but it was also their ninth clean sheet of the campaign and goalkeeper Allan McGregor's sixth clean sheet in a row.

Despite Rangers' strong defence, Celtic do hold a slightly better record this season having conceded two less goals, and that is the difference between their goal difference stats, which the second-placed side have to their advantage currently, but Rangers will be more focused on maintaining their six-point gap.

Aberdeen let a two-goal lead slip in October when these two teams last met, with Morelos and James Tavernier scoring for the home side to level the scoreline at 2-2 which is how the match went on to finish.

Rangers dominated possession of the ball in that game and they are expected to do so again this time around, but that encounter was a game of few chances with clinical finishing the story of the result.

Team News

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Andrew Considine, Dylan McGeouch, Matty Kennedy and Michael Devlin are all expected to make a full return to fitness during the winter break making them likely to be available for selection for this outing.

Christian Ramirez is Aberdeen's top goalscorer having netted eight times after featuring in every Scottish Premiership game so far, and he is certain to lead the line in the middle of an attacking trio including Hedges and Marley Watkins.

Left-back Jonathan Hayes and midfielder Ferguson have been key players for Glass's side this season, only missing three games between them this campaign, and they are expected to start again within a 4-3-3 formation.

The five Rangers players who have been missing through injury recently are also pencilled in to make their recoveries during the winter break, so, Filip Helander, Kemar Roofe, Leon Balogun, Nnamdi Ofoborh and Ryan Jack could all be available for selection again, apart from Nigeria international Balogun.

Joe Aribo has been one of Rangers' main sources for goals this season, with the 25-year-old finding the back of the net on six occasions, but he will be missing along with Balogun as they have been selected to represent Nigeria at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Aberdeen possible starting lineup:

Lewis; Hayes, Bates, McCrorie, Ramsey; Ferguson, Jenks, Ojo; Watkins, Ramirez, Hedges

Rangers possible starting lineup:

McGregor; Barisic, Bassey, Goldson, Tavernier; Kamara, Arfield, Hagi; Kent, Morelos, Wright

We say: Aberdeen 0-2 Rangers

Rangers are expected to pick up from where they left off in this encounter and they will want to restart their season with a solid result to push on for the remainder of the campaign.

Aberdeen have shown good signs in their last few matches but their visitors are likely to be to strong for them on this occasion with confidence from their excellent form.