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

Scottish Premiership champions Celtic will aim to maintain their winning start to the 2026-27 season when they welcome Aberdeen to Celtic Park on Wednesday.

The hosts have won all of their opening three league fixtures, while the visitors have won one and lost two of their three games.

Match preview

Celtic have had a largely flawless start to the 2026-27 season, aside from a disastrous elimination from the Champions League in the playoff qualifying round.

The Bhoys have begun their hunt for a sixth straight Scottish Premiership title with three wins from three games, scoring a league-high eight goals and conceding a league-low two times.

Martin O'Neill's side have also booked their place in the third round of the Scottish League Cup, where they have been drawn against rivals Rangers, after beating Dundee United 4-0 in the second round.

That strong start looked set to include Celtic securing their place back in the league phase of the Champions League after missing out last term, with the Bhoys recording a considerable 3-0 win against LASK Linz in the first leg of their playoff qualifying round tie.

Celtic added to their advantage in the second leg, going 1-0 ahead in Austria, but a catastrophic collapse followed, conceding five goals without reply as they ultimately lost 5-1 on the night and 5-4 on aggregate - marking one of the worst nights in the club's modern memory.

The Bhoys did manage to bounce back from that disappointment by beating Falkirk 2-1 last time out, making it three wins from three league games, and they will be looking to extend that winning start when they welcome Aberdeen to Paradise.

Celtic have dominated recent meetings with Aberdeen, including six straight wins in the Scottish Premiership and a run of 28 games without a defeat to the Dons.

Aberdeen also head into this fixture off the back of picking up only three points from their first three league fixtures, including back-to-back defeats against Dundee (2-0) and Rangers (1-0).

Despite those results, there have been encouraging signs under Stephen Robinson at the beginning of the season, including a 2-1 victory against Hearts on matchday one and a dominant 3-0 win over Dundee in the Scottish League Cup second round.

The Dons will be eager to avoid a third consecutive Scottish Premiership defeat, meaning they will have to overcome a miserable record from their recent visits to Celtic Park.

Aberdeen have lost 12 of their last 13 trips to Celtic's home stadium, with the only exception being a 2-2 draw in October 2024.

Celtic Scottish Premiership form:

Celtic form (all competitions):

Aberdeen Scottish Premiership form:

Aberdeen form (all competitions):

Team News

Alistair Johnston, Jota and Reo Hatate are all ruled out for Celtic, while Callum McGregor and Kasper Hogh are doubts to feature.

Camilo Duran started up front in Hogh's absence against Falkirk, and after scoring a decisive brace, the summer signing should lead the line once again on Wednesday.

In midfield, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain started in McGregor's place alongside Mika Baur, and that duo could continue in the middle of the park.

As for Aberdeen, Bradley Lyons, Emmanuel Gyamfi, Kristers Tobers and Kusini Yengi are all ruled out due to ongoing injury issues.

Kevin Nisbet has been Aberdeen's main source of goals this season, scoring nine times in eight matches, and the striker will be hoping to add to his tally on Wednesday.

Celtic possible starting lineup:

Sinisalo; Donovan, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Tierney; Baur, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Hassan, Nygren, Hyun-Jun; Duran

Aberdeen possible starting lineup:

Muller; Cadden, Mayo, Happe, Guinness-Walker; Ronan, Afeez; Ntelo, Armstrong, Olusanya; Nisbet

We say: Celtic 3-1 Aberdeen

Celtic have enjoyed a dominant start in the league, and with Aberdeen's disastrous record in this fixture, we are predicting another comfortable win for the hosts.

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