Friday 22nd January Kickoff: 1945hrs
Aberdeen v Dundee
Football – Scotland – Scottish Premiership
Although Aberdeen have dropped to six points behind leaders Celtic following the Glasgow’s club 8-1 romp at home to Hamilton on Tuesday, the Dons will still be more than satisfied with their current position, particularly as they won their most recent game, 3-2, away to Ross County – despite playing the majority of the game with ten men. The sending-off to Mark Reynolds, conceding a foul that led to the opening goal, looked to have put last year’s runners up in a difficult position. Credit to them, however, as they showed great character, alongside good quality to keep the heat on Celtic. Playing Friday night gives them a chance to reduce the gap at the top back to three, ahead of Celtic’s game on Saturday.
Dundee are enjoying another successful season under Paul Hartley’s guidance, building on a top-six finish last team. The Dens Park club occupy the same position once again, and come into this game having won three of their last five, including a victory in the derby against rivals United. Finishing in the top six would ensure another productive campaign, but with four teams separated by four points in that area of the table, Hartley and his men will have aspirations of finishing in a higher position than 12 months ago. Of course, there will be some of the club’s supporters just delighted to have finish above Dundee United, particularly as their city rivals are languishing at the foot of the Scottish Premiership, seemingly destined for the Championship. It goes without saying that the manager and the players will simply be concentrating on winning as many games as possible, however.
Key to Aberdeen’s success once again this season has been Republic of Ireland striker Adam Rooney. The club’s top scorer has notched 15 goals in the league from just 22 appearances. To put that into perspective, Niall McGinn is next in that list with only six goals. Rooney is on track to make this his most prolific season during his spell at Pittodrie, needing three more to equal last season’s tally, whilst he is also in with a chance of bettering his best season in his career when he scored 24 for Inverness in 2009/10. Should he continue in this form he will be close to getting a call-up to the Irish European Championship squad for this summer’s tournament. His importance to his club is immense and he led by example by scoring the equaliser against Ross County last week.
If there’s one aspect of Dundee’s season that Hartley would like to see improvement on, it would probably be their defensive record. Despite sitting in the top half of the table they have shipped more goals than every other team in the league aside from the bottom three clubs. Away from home is a particular concern with 24 goals shipped in 12 games – only Dundee United and Hamilton (on the back of letting in eight this week) – have worse records on their travels. The manager makes no secret of his desire to play open and entertaining football, but there is also a touch of naivety about their play, and it’s something which has prevented them from picking up more points than they currently have.
Aberdeen v Dundee Betting Tips
As is one of the consequences of a 12 team league, these two clubs have already met twice this season, and if both finish in the top six when the league splits in two, then there will be a fourth meeting before the end of be season. Aberdeen have won both encounters, and rather comfortably as well well. A 2-0 win at home back in August was followed with another victory by the same score line last month. As alluded to above, if they can record another victory over Dundee then it will close the gap on Celtic to three points – at least until 5pm on Saturday. Dundee have plenty of motivation themselves, of course, as they can move level on points with fourth-placed St Johnstone with a win.
Having watched the win over Ross County last Sunday, it was evident how together this Aberdeen side are at the moment. Dingwall is not an easy place to go at the best of times, but to go a goal down in the first half and play the remainder a man down is especially difficult. You couldn’t help but be impressed with their response and it will give them great confidence going into this game. I have mentioned Dundee’s defensive deficiencies (easier to type than say) when playing on the road and with a striker in the form Rooney is at the moment, I fully expect the home team to prove too strong for their opponents and make it three from three against Dundee this term. The odds on an Aberdeen are a little skinny, so the selection is take them -1 on the Asian handicap, ensuring stakes are returned if they win by a solitary goal
Aberdeen -1(AH) 9/10 @ Betvictor
