Sunday 28th October 1630hrs Aberdeen v Rangers Football – Scotland – League Cup Aberdeen and Rangers is probably the fiercest rivalry game outside of Celtic and Rangers and when you take into account that Sunday’s match is for a place in the final of the Scottish League Cup, it’s unlikely to be a tame affair. The duo met on the first day of the season with the game ending a draw but there has to be a winner on this weekend and whoever prevails will take great delight in saying so. Continue reading for a match preview of Aberdeen versus Rangers with a best betting tip selected.
Aberdeen have finished second in the Scottish Premiership for the past four seasons but this one was always bound to be a tougher assignment with improvement likely at Rangers and the Edinburgh clubs both fast emerging. The Dons also had to deal with a turnover of key players and the early signs are they’re struggling to replace that quality. They currently sit outside the top six which is surprising but it’s also a reflection of how they’ve begun this season and a five point gap between themselves and sixth placed Hibs tells its own story. League form aside and it’s been business as usual for Derek McInnes who have an excellent recent record in cup competitions having reached the semi final stage or better in three of the last four domestic cups. Their two games in this season’s league cup have been very different with a 4-0 thrashing at home to St Mirren followed by a nail-biting win on penalties against Hibs in the quarter final. Losing 2-1 away to Hearts in the league on Saturday was hardly the ideal preparation for this but McInnes will be hoping that a return to cup action will bring with it another big performance from his players.
Steven Gerrard has made an instant impact in his short time as Rangers boss. Their league form has been inconsistent and are probably at the point where you would expect them to be at this stage with further improvement needed to mount a sustained title challenge. The Ibrox club have overachieved in Europe though by making the group stages of the Europa League and in with a sold chance of reaching the knockout phase. When he took over one of his objectives was to win some silverware and the League Cup and Scottish Cup were two realistic targets to do so. They’re now within one game of making a cup final and are big favourites to do so. Rangers have been drawn against both Ayrshire clubs enroute to this final, defeating Kilmarnock on the road before dispatching Ayr last time out. Gerrard has a big decision to make in terms of team selection for Sunday’s game as his two senior strikers will be missing. Alfredo Morelos is suspended and Kyle Lafferty is ineligible having already player for Hearts in earlier rounds. With little faith shown in loan player Umar Sadiq it could well see a slight change in system.
Aberdeen v Rangers Betting Tip
The rivalry between these two is very bitter and that even transcended into tickets sales for this match. The end result will see Rangers have a sizeable fan advantage and they’ll be hoping that makes a difference. For Aberdeen they’ll be counting on some tiredness in their opponents following Rangers’ match in Europe on Thursday and on the evidence we’ve seen thus far they’ll need every advantage they can get. Rangers have been much more impressive overall and they felt unlucky not to take all three points on the opening day despite playing much of the game with 10 men.
Incredibly this is the first time that these two clubs have met in a cup competition for 14 years – remarkable considering both have enjoyed relative success in that period, but at different times. Aberdeen have often been accused of failing to win the ‘big’ games often enough whether it be in the league or cup. It doesn’t get much bigger than Sunday for them but unfortunately for Dons’ supporters, I can see the result being all too familiar and them leaving Glasgow in despondent mood. Rangers can win and ensure a Glasgow derby final on the 2nd of December in the process.
Selection: Rangers 10/11 @ Betfred
