Celtic host Aberdeen in their midweek Scottish Premiership encounter on Wednesday at Celtic Park as they look to start the season with four consecutive league wins.
Celtic vs Aberdeen – Match preview and team news
- Date: Wednesday, 2nd September.
- Kick-off: 7:45pm BST.
- Venue: Celtic Park, Glasgow.
Celtic team news
Celtic welcomes a massive boost ahead of their midweek Scottish Premiership clash as club captain Callum McGregor returns to the squad after recovering from a recent sickness bug.
However, the champions are managing a growing injury list, particularly in attack and defense. Forward Kasper Høgh and left-back Kieran Tierney are entirely ruled out for this fixture after sustaining abductor injuries that prevented them from training.
Callum Osmand is facing several weeks on the sidelines due to an ankle injury. Long-term absentees Alistair Johnston, Jota, and Reo Hatate remain unavailable as they continue their respective recoveries.
On a brighter note, newly arrived midfielder Oliver Sørensen is available to make his immediate debut following his loan move from Parma.
In the absence of other forwards, last weekend’s goalscoring hero Camilo Durán is expected to step up and lead the frontline once again.
Aberdeen team news
Aberdeen faces a challenging trip to Parkhead while continuing to navigate a heavily depleted squad, particularly across their midfield line.
The Dons will be completely without the services of key midfielders Brad Lyons, who is recovering from knee surgery, Ante Palaversa, and Emmanuel Gyamfi, who remains out with a thigh injury.
Defensive stability is also affected as centre-back Kristers Tobers remains sidelined with a knee problem, and forward Kusini Yengi is also unavailable due to a thigh strain.
Despite these significant setbacks, the visitors receive a timely defensive lift as Dutch defender Mats Knoester is back in full contention following a long-term absence that kept him out since May.
Aberdeen will lean heavily on in-form striker Kevin Nisbet to provide their primary attacking threat, with the forward looking to add to his impressive tally of nine goals across all competitions this season.
Form
Celtic
Celtic enters the match in perfect domestic form, sitting top of the Scottish Premiership table after winning all three of their opening league fixtures. Most recently, they secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory against Falkirk. Their confidence remains high following earlier dominant 4-0 and 5-1 domestic triumphs, despite a recent bump in European competition. Crucially, the Hoops maintain an outstanding record at Celtic Park, remaining flawless at home so far this season.
Aberdeen
Aberdeen have endured a contrasting start to their league campaign, managing just one victory and suffering two defeats from their opening three games, leaving them tenth. Their most recent outing ended in a narrow 1-0 defeat against Rangers at Pittodrie. The Dons are also plagued by an ongoing 13-match winless streak in away league games, adding extra pressure to their daunting trip to face the league leaders.
Predicted lineups
Celtic: Sinisalo; Donovan, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Tierney; Baur, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Hassan, Nygren, Hyun-Jun; Duran
Aberdeen: Muller; Cadden, Mayo, Happe, Guinness-Walker; Ronan, Afeez; Ntelo, Armstrong, Olusanya; Nisbet
How to watch Celtic vs Aberdeen?
UK viewers can watch this fixture on CelticPlayer.
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