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

On Saturday afternoon, Ange Postecoglou's side host Aberdeen, who secured third place in midweek thanks to a 3-0 victory over St Mirren, with Wigan Athletic loanee Graeme Shinnie bagging a brace at Pittodrie.

Match preview

Despite racking up 18 shots while enjoying 70% possession on Wednesday, a much-changed Celtic side twice threw away the lead at Easter Road, allowing Hibs to claim a famous victory over the 53-time champions of Scotland.

Reo Hatate put the Bhoys ahead on the stroke of half time before Oh Hyeon-gyu made it 2-1 just before the hour mark, but following Daizen Maeda's sending off midway through the second half, the hosts scored three late goals to snatch the win.

Between October and April, Celtic went six months without suffering a single Premiership defeat, posting a remarkable run of 25 wins and two draws to wrap up an 11th top-flight title in 12 seasons.

Since then, however, the champions have taken a solitary point from a possible nine, with a 3-0 loss at Rangers and a 2-2 draw with St Mirren preceding Wednesday's shock defeat in the capital.

It would not be unfair to say that Celtic have taken their foot off the gas in recent weeks, having dominated the division throughout the campaign, but Postecoglou and his players will back themselves to finish the season on a high.

On the topic of finishing the season on a high, Aberdeen have enjoyed an excellent end to the campaign under the guidance of Barry Robson, who replaced Jim Goodwin in the Pittodrie hot seat back in January.

When Robson took over, Aberdeen found themselves seventh in the table following a run of eight defeats in 10 matches, but the former Dons midfielder has transformed the team's fortunes in recent months.

Having won nine of their 14 games under Robson's watch - keeping eight clean sheets along the way - Aberdeen sit four points clear of fourth-placed Hearts with one match remaining.

The Dons even managed to chalk up a seven-game winning streak between February and April, claiming a memorable 2-0 victory over Rangers for good measure, despite seeing just 25% of the ball against the Glasgow giants.

Although Aberdeen have struggled for consistency this month - recording one win, one draw and two losses in May - Wednesday's dominant victory over St Mirren means that Robson's men will be in a bullish mood as they prepare to take on the champions.

Celtic Scottish Premiership form:

W

D

W

L

D

L

Celtic form (all competitions):

D

W

W

L

D

L

Aberdeen Scottish Premiership form:

W

W

L

D

L

W

Team News

Celtic will be without the suspended Daizen Maeda on Saturday after the Japan international picked up a red card last time out, while Cameron Carter-Vickers and Alistair Johnston are sidelined through injury.

Postecoglou rested a number of key players in midweek, including top scorer Kyogo Furuhashi, who has netted 31 goals this season, while Joe Hart, Matt O'Riley, Greg Taylor and Jota also found themselves on the bench at Easter Road.

The Celtic manager is expected to ring the changes again on Saturday, meaning that Scott Bain, Alexandro Bernabei, Tomoki Iwata, Liel Abada and Oh Hyeon-guy could all drop to the bench.

As for Aberdeen, they have reported no fresh injury problems ahead of Saturday's showdown, although long-term absentee Callum Roberts remains sidelined due to an ongoing muscle issue.

Having both scored 18 goals this term, Bojan Miovski will continue to partner former Benfica forward Duk in the Dons' forward line, while Liverpool loanee Leighton Clarkson will offer attacking support from midfield.

On-loan Celtic defender Liam Scales is unable to face his parent club this weekend, so Jack MacKenzie is expected to join Mattie Pollock and Angus MacDonald in the visitors' back three.

Celtic possible starting lineup:

Hart; Taylor, Kobayashi, Starfelt, Ralston; McGregor, O'Riley, Hatate; Haksabanovic, Furuhashi, Jota

Aberdeen possible starting lineup:

Roos; Pollock, MacDonald, Tanser; McCrorie, Ramadani, Clarkson, Shinnie, Hayes; Duk, Miovski

We say: Celtic 3-1 Aberdeen

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