Managerless Aberdeen welcome table-toppers Celtic to Pittodrie for a Scottish Premiership clash on Saturday, after sacking manager Barry Robson in midweek.
On a rare occasion where the main headline heading into a clash involving one of the Glasgow giants does not surround them, Aberdeen are currently being led by Peter Leven before a replacement is appointed.
Match preview
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Robson was relieved of his duties as Aberdeen boss on Wednesday after a disappointing return following the winter break leaves the club in the bottom six.
In three games since Premiership action returned, Aberdeen are still without a win, and a draw at home to Dundee on Tuesday was the final straw for the now-departed manager.
After coming third last season, the Dons made it into Europe and eventually qualified for the Europa Conference League, but balancing league and continental commitments has evidently taken its toll.
A really poor start saw Aberdeen near the foot of the table, but they won five out of seven games before Scotland's winter break.
Drawing with a struggling St Johnstone side was not ideal on their return, but Aberdeen then went on to lose at Hearts, losing even more ground in the hunt for a spot in the top six.
In response, the board had seen enough, sacking Robson in the week, and they could remain without a permanent replacement going into this clash.
Disarray at Aberdeen could help Celtic, who will come into the game as huge favourites regardless.
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Brendan Rodgers's side scraped past Ross County last weekend, with Alistair Johnson's first-minute strike all that separated the sides.
That was an important victory mentally for the Celtic side, as they would have watched Rangers win during the early kick-off and momentarily close the gap to two points, before going on to extend it again.
Since back-to-back defeats in December, Celtic have won six on the spin, with James Tavernier's late consolation in the Old Firm the only goals they have conceded in that time.
Having played a game more though, Celtic must keep their composure over the course of three consecutive away games now, with Rangers keeping pace.
Team News
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Slobodan Rubezic's knee injury means the defender is set to miss out in what is a huge blow for the Dons, and part of the reason why they are yet to keep a clean sheet since the return.
With speculation linking Duk with a move away from the club, he was not a part of the squad that drew with Dundee in midweek, after also not starting any of the games in 2024 so far.
Connor Barron was surprisingly dropped from the midfield on Tuesday, but there was an opportunity for Killian Phillips to make his debut off the bench, following his move from Crystal Palace.
South Korea's dramatic win over Saudi Arabia at the Asian Cup means Celtic duo Oh Hyeon-gyu and Yang Hyun-jun remain away on international duty.
Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate are also both still away with Japan, and Marco Tilio is also in Australia's squad, who face South Korea next.
Of those with the squad, Nicolas Kuhn made his debut last weekend after arriving from Rapid Wien, and Cameron Carter-Vickers returned from injury just days after signing a new contract with the club.
Aberdeen possible starting lineup:
Roos; Devlin, Jensen, MacDonald; Milne, Clarkson, Shinnie, McGrath, Mackenzie; Miovski, Sokler
Celtic possible starting lineup:
Hart; Johnson, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Bernabei; O'Riley, McGregor, Paulo Bernardo; Abada, Kyogo, Palma
We say: Aberdeen 0-3 Celtic
Aberdeen will be hoping to start with a clean slate following the dismissal of Robson, but they could not have asked for a more difficult fixture to start a new era with.
Celtic will sense an opposition devoid of confidence, and should take full advantage with a dominant display to extend their lead at the top to eight points before Rangers play.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Andrew Delaney
