Aberdeen will entertain Rangers at the Pittodrie Stadium in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday.
The hosts have been a bit inconsistent in their league campaign thus far and suffered their fifth defeat of the season last time around. They were humbled 6-0 by reigning champions Celtic in their away game and will look to bounce back to winning ways.
The visitors are on a five-game winning run in the Premiership at the moment, keeping four clean sheets in that period. In their previous outing, goals from James Tavernier and Cyriel Dessers helped them register a comfortable 2-0 away win.
While they have enjoyed a good run in the league, they already find themselves trailing arch-rivals Celtic by eight points, though they have a game in hand. They'll hope to continue their winning run as they look to keep up with the reigning champions in the league standings.
Aberdeen vs Rangers Head-to-Head and Key Numbers
- The two teams have a long-standing rivalry and have crossed paths 297 times in all competitions since 1905. As expected, the visitors have dominated proceedings against their northern rivals with 145 wins to their name. The hosts have got the better of the capital club 69 times and 83 games have ended in draws.
- They met in the reverse fixture in September, with Aberdeen recording a 3-1 away win. It was Rangers' last defeat in the Premiership and they have won five games in a row since.
- Interestingly, the hosts have won two of their last three league meetings against the visitors.
- The visitors have scored at least twice in 26 of their last 32 league games.
- The visitors have the best defensive record in the Scottish Premiership this season, conceding just six times in 12 games thus far.
Aberdeen vs Rangers Prediction
The Dons have just one win in their last four league games, failing to score in three games in that period. They have fared slightly better at home, with clean sheets in their last two games. Nonetheless, they have just one win in their last eight home meetings against the visitors and might struggle here.
Head coach Barry Robson will be able to welcome back defender James McGarry from a hamstring injury, which will be a boost for the hosts. Shayden Morris also resumed training after three games but the game comes too soon for him.
The Gers head into the match on an eight-game unbeaten run across all competitions, recording seven wins. They have kept five clean sheets in that period and will look to build on that defensive form in this match.
Philippe Clement has a few absentees for the trip to Aberdeen as Nicolas Raskin, Ryan Jack, and Kemar Roofe remain sidelined through injuries. John Souttar and Rabbi Matondo have recovered from their injuries and should start here.
The hosts registered a win in the reverse fixture in September and are expected to go all in for the league double. The visitors are unbeaten across all competitions since the defeat in the reverse fixture and look to be in good touch.
With that in mind and also considering their better goalscoring and defensive record than the hosts, we back them to eke out a narrow win.
Prediction: Aberdeen 1-2 Rangers.
Aberdeen vs Rangers Betting Tips
Tip 1: Result - Rangers to win
Tip 2: Goals - Over/Under 2.5 Goals - Over 2.5 goals
Tip 3: At least a goal to be scored in the second half - Yes
Tip 4: James Tavernier to score or assist any time - Yes