MX23RW : Saturday, April 27 01:36:13| >> :120:17589:17589:
[monks data]
Celtic logo
Scottish Premiership | Gameweek 4
Feb 17, 2021 at 6pm UK
Celtic Park
Aberdeen logo

Celtic
1 - 0
Aberdeen

Turnbull (14')
FT(HT: 1-0)

Hendry (83'), Ferguson (88')

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

Sports Mole previews Wednesday's Scottish Premiership clash between Celtic and Aberdeen, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Celtic host Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership on Wednesday evening, hoping to claim their fifth successive league victory.

Meanwhile, the Dons head to Parkhead having lost 27 of their last 29 away league games against the Hoops, although they have avoided defeat in two of their last four visits.


Match preview

Celtic manager Neil Lennon pictured on January 2, 2021© Reuters

Celtic claimed their fourth successive league victory after coming from behind to win 2-1 away at St Johnstone last weekend.

The hosts scored their first home goal against the Hoops since February 2017, when Shaun Rooney's header five minutes after half time broke the deadlock. However, a quickfire brace from Odsonne Edouard turned the game on its head, securing all three points for Neil Lennon's side.

Despite a recent upturn in form, Celtic chairman Ian Bankier has declared the club's review of performances is still ongoing, with Lennon's future at Parkhead remaining uncertain, although he has stated that the board will not make "hasty decisions".

The Hoops are 18 points behind rivals Rangers at the top of the Scottish Premiership, and have already been eliminated from both the Europa League and Scottish League Cup this campaign.

Celtic head into their clash with Aberdeen having lost just one of their last 17 league meetings against them. They have faced the Dons twice this season, drawing 3-3 on October 25, before winning 2-0 at Hampden Park in the Scottish Cup semi-final a week later.

Victory on Wednesday would be Celtic's 10th home triumph this term and would see the gap to the summit reduced to 15 points and the difference to third-placed Hibernian extended to the same margin.

Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes pictured in November 22, 2020© Reuters

Aberdeen have yet to escape their current poor run of form, which is now building pressure on manager Derek McInnes, who has challenged his side to improve in the final third.

McInnes did however claim that Saturday's goalless draw at home to St Mirren was not a day to judge his misfiring side, as windy conditions were a big influence on the game with chances at a premium.

Earning just a point at Pittodrie means that Aberdeen have won just two of their last 11 league matches and have now extended their goalless run to five consecutive games.

The Dons have also failed to score in each of their last three away matches; the last time Aberdeen drew a blank in four successive league games on the road was back in September 2011 under former boss Craig Brown.

McInnes will be hoping that the deadline day signings of strikers Florian Kamberi, Fraser Hornby and Callum Hendry can provide a much-needed spark to spearhead the Dons in the right direction for the remainder of the season.

Ending their poor run of form with a win in midweek would see Aberdeen move one point behind Hibernian in third, although the Edinburgh outfit will have a game in hand.

Celtic Scottish Premiership form: WLWWWW

Aberdeen Scottish Premiership form: WDDLLD


Team News

Ryan Christie in action for Celtic on September 27, 2020© Reuters

Celtic trio Stephen Welsh (ankle), Christopher Jullien (knee) and James Forrest (ankle) are all unavailable through injury, although both Welsh and Forrest could be back in training before the end of the month.

Midfielder Ryan Christie was recalled to the starting lineup that faced St Johnstone and he is expected to keep his place ahead of Albian Ajeti and Mohammed Elyounoussi.

Aberdeen defender Michael Devlin is still out of action with an ankle injury and Ryan Hedges is sidelined for the rest of the season with a muscle problem.

Centre-back Ash Taylor could be recalled to the starting lineup which may result in Niall McGinn dropping to the bench and Jonny Hayes moving to the left-wing.

Celtic possible starting lineup:
Bain; Kenny, Welsh, Ajer, Taylor; Brown, McGregor; Turnbull, Rogic, Christie; Edouard

Aberdeen possible starting lineup:
Lewis; Hoban, Considine, Taylor; Kennedy, Campbell, Ferguson, McCrorie, Hayes; Kamberi, Hornby


SM words green background

We say: Celtic 2-0 Aberdeen

Aberdeen will be keen to improve in the final third this weekend if they are to end their poor run of form, however they face a Celtic side who seem to have found their groove in recent weeks and should have enough quality to claim all three points on Wednesday.


Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting that at least one team will not score (BTTS - no) in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.BTTS No:data


ID:435384: cacheID:435384:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:10237:

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 Celtic win with a probability of 61.15%. A draw had a probability of 22.6% and a win for Aberdeen had a probability of 16.28%.

The most likely scoreline for a Celtic win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.21%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (11.95%) and 2-1 (9.65%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (10.67%), while for an Aberdeen win it was 0-1 (5.9%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 13.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted a 1-0 win for Celtic in this match.


Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Restore Data
Share this article now:
Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes pictured in November 22, 2020
Read Next:
Derek McInnes backed by Aberdeen board amid poor form
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
1pm
Bublik
Carballes Baena
10am
Auger-Aliassime
Mannarino
10am
Bautista Agut
Khachanov
10am
Cachin
Tiafoe
10am
De Minaur
Nadal
10am
Dimitrov
Mensik
10am
Jarry
Cobolli
10am
Kecmanovic
Ruud
10am
Kotov
Thompson
10am
Lehecka
Medjedovic
10am
Machac
Shelton
10am
Medvedev
Arnaldi
10am
Monteiro
Tsitsipas
10am
Norrie
Fonseca
10am
Purcell
Korda
10am
Sinner
Sonego
10am
Azarenka
Sorribes Tormo
10am
Annie Fernandez
Jabeur
10am
Gauff
Yastremska
10am
Haddad Maia
Navarro
10am
Keys
Samsonova
10am
Ostapenko
Lourdes Carle
10am
Stephens
Sakkari
10am
Swiatek
Cirstea
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
Championship Group
1Celtic000080265478
2RangersRangers000072234975
3Hearts000046341262
4Kilmarnock00004334951
5St Mirren00003843-543
6Dundee00004454-1041
Relegation Group
1Hibernian00004451-739
2Motherwell00004651-537
3Aberdeen00003549-1435
4St Johnstone00002446-2231
5Ross County00003256-2430
6Livingston00002259-3718
 
First Phase
1Celtic33246380265478
2RangersRangers33243672234975
3Hearts33195946341262
4Kilmarnock33131284334951
5St Mirren33127143843-543
6Dundee331011124454-1041
7Hibernian33912124451-739
8Motherwell33813124651-537
9Aberdeen33811143549-1435
10St Johnstone33710162446-2231
11Ross County3379173256-2430
12Livingston3339212259-3718


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!