High-flying Aberdeen welcome Rangers to the Granite City tonight in what is sure to be a highly-charged 90 minutes at Pittodrie.
Jimmy Thelin has made a near-perfect start in the dugout, with last weekend’s dramatic 1-0 win against Dundee United taking him to 14 victories from his first 15 matches in charge in all competitions, having also come back from 2-0 down to claim a point against champions Celtic. Pittodrie has once again been sold out for the visit of Philippe Clement‘s Gers, and as well as potentially returning to the Premiership summit, the Dons could also move nine points clear of the men from Ibrox.
Swede Thelin’s calm demeanour since taking the job has won him many plaudits since taking on the job at Aberdeen, but the former Elfsborg boss’ tactical nous has also been integral to the team’s superb start to the campaign. Thelin has demonstrated his ability to take the game to their opponents as shown in their fightback at Celtic Park, but also has got his team well drilled and hard to beat at the other end.
The Reds have another huge game on the horizon when they meet Celtic in the last four of the Premier Sports Cup on Saturday, but all eyes are on Rangers, with Aberdeen looking to topple the Light Blues on home soil for only the second time in eight years. Thelin is unlikely to make too many changes from the side that edged past Dundee United last Saturday but one key cog in the machine is sure to make a return.
Captain Graeme Shinnie appeared off the bench in the victory against the Tangerines but should come back into the Dons engine room. The 33-year-old has been deployed in an unorthodox number 10 position at times this season but could sit alongside Sivert Heltne Nilsen at the base of the midfield, with Ante Palaversa the most likely candidate to drop out.
But elsewhere it should be as you were for the men in red. Gavin Molloy and Slobodan Rubezic have struck up a solid partnership at centre back while full backs Nicky Devlin and Jack MacKenzie have won international recognition for their performances in the early part of the season.
Predicted Aberdeen XI
Duk has caught the eye with his recent displays after his much-publicised return from going AWOL last summer, and is likely to be joined by Republic of Ireland star Jamie McGrath and Finland’s Topi Keskinen in supporting lone frontman Ester Sokler. Kevin Nisbet had looked to have cemented himself as Thelin’s preferred man through the middle following top scorer Pape Gueye’s serious injury but the Millwall loanee is facing a race against the clock to get back fit for the mega clash under the lights at Pittodrie tonight.
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