The Scottish Premiership season is underway, and Sunday sees us take a trip to Pittodrie.
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Third Versus First
Aberdeen could only manage a draw in their opening league encounter, a point on Sunday would be considered reason for celebration.
Tough Task Ahead
After finishing third in last season’s Scottish Premiership, Aberdeen would have been full of optimism at the start of the 2023/24 campaign. Unfortunately for Barry Robson’s men, that optimism would have been dampened by events at Livingston last Saturday.
In fairness, a point on the opening day is never the worst result in the world but after such a strong end to the previous campaign, supporters of the Dons may consider their recent awayday as two points dropped.
Of course, there was no such thing as dropped points at the home of the defending champions. It may not have been the perfect victory over Ross County but it was routine all the same, as Celtic ran out 4-2 winners in front of their own support.
A performance that saw the return of Brendan Rodgers as Celtic manager and although the Hoops’ defence was called into question last Saturday lunchtime, the eventual victory would have felt even better just hours later.
With Rangers getting their own Scottish league campaign underway at Kilmarnock, the plan would have been to restore parity in terms of opening day points. Unfortunately for Michael Beale’s men, they could not even find parity when it came to scoring goals at Rugby Park.
This means Celtic already find themselves three points clear of their nearest rivals and although there is plenty of time to see that margin eroded, one wonders what the early psychological impact will be.
Especially if the defending champions can make it two wins from two on Sunday and considering they have won their last four meetings with Aberdeen to nil, another dominant performance may soon be served up.
Aberdeen manager Barry Robson will look back on the recent away defeats to Celtic, where they lost 4-0 in February and 5-0 in May and hope that his side can offer far more in terms of resolve at home.
Then again, such a thing is easier said than done when you consider the might of the defending champions. They may have lost Jota in the summer, but they certainly did not miss him in their opening league skirmish of the season.
But now it is time for the first of my two tips. First up, I am taking a look at the opening goalscorer market and with Kyogo Furuhashi getting off the mark last weekend, I am backing him to break the deadlock on Sunday - such an outcome is currently priced at 7/2.
While my second tip is focusing on defensive calamity and with plenty of Celtic attacks on the horizon, the Aberdeen defence is going to be under pressure. So much pressure that we end up seining an own goal at Pittodrie and this is subsequently backed at 8/1.
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