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Aberdeen logo
Scottish Premiership | Gameweek 5
Aug 23, 2020 at 3pm UK
Pittodrie Stadium
Livingston logo

Aberdeen
2 - 1
Livingston

Ferguson (49' pen.), Wright (55')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Pittman (69')
Sibbald (42'), Devlin (43')

Preview: Aberdeen vs. Livingston - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Sunday's Scottish Premiership fixture between Aberdeen and Livingston, including team news and predicted lineups.

Aberdeen play host to Livingston on Sunday afternoon having recorded their first Scottish Premiership win over St Johnstone earlier this week.

Meanwhile, Livingston make the trip to Pittodrie on the back of earning a surprise goalless draw at home to leaders Rangers.


Match preview

General view of Aberdeen's Pittodrie Stadium from 2008© Reuters

After 19 days without a game, Derek McInnes would naturally have had concerns about the fitness of his patched-up squad ahead of their meeting with an improving St Johnstone side on Thursday night.

However, despite nearly three weeks out of action, the Dons responded with a gritty performance, eventually claiming a hard-fought win thanks to a late Ryan Hedges goal.

Despite there being much work ahead, especially in the short term as they play their games in hands, McInnes will be optimistic that the coronavirus misdemeanours in recent weeks can only strengthen the mentality of this group of players.

Although apologetic for not abiding by regulations when attending a city bar, the criticism brought on by the eight players involved could have a galvanising effect with regards to their efforts on the pitch.

Nevertheless, McInnes and his squad must find a way to overcome the difficulties of the short turnaround to take on a Livingston side very much on a high.

While they remain without a victory this season, last Sunday's goalless draw against Rangers answered lingering questions about the resilience of the team's backline.

After witnessing Livingston concede seven goals during their opening three matches, manager Gary Holt could not hide his delight in becoming the first Scottish team to shut out the Glasgow giants this season.

That said, with games against Aberdeen and Ross County in front of them, attention must quickly turn to trying to record maximum points, aware that it could be enough to take the club as high as seventh place by the end of the weekend.

Livingston also have to find a way to cope without star man Lyndon Dykes, who has been allowed to join Queens Park Rangers in a £2m deal.

Aberdeen Scottish Premiership form: LW

Livingston Scottish Premiership form: LLDD


Team News

Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes pictured in April 2019© Reuters

While McInnes will not want to make too many changes to the team which began in midweek, tiredness will be taken into consideration.

Having coming through 84 minutes on his first outing in a year, Scott Wright may drop down to the substitutes' bench, potentially for Thursday's match-winner Hedges if McInnes uses the Welshman in a more advanced role.

Andrew Considine serves the second of a two-match suspension, but Scott McKenna and Bruce Anderson will be involved in the squad after completing a period of self-isolation.

As for Livingston, Robby McCrorie is expected to return in goal after sitting out the contest with parent club Rangers.

Julien Serrano and Lars Lokotsch are likely to feature in the squad after their recent arrivals, but Ciaron Brown is still struggling with a muscle injury.

Holt has revealed that a number of his players are carrying minor knocks ahead of the game.

Aberdeen possible starting lineup:
Lewis; McCrorie, Taylor, Hoban; Hernandez, Ferguson, Campbell, Ojo, Hayes; Hedges, McGinn

Livingston possible starting lineup:
McCrorie; Devlin, Fitzwater, Guthrie, McMillan; Holt, Bartley; Pittman, Sibbald, Forrest; Hamilton


SM words green background

We say: Aberdeen 1-1 Livingston

Despite the momentum generated from their victory at St Johnstone, some of Aberdeen's squad may be feeling the effects of their first game since the beginning of the season. With that in mind, we feel that Livingston will do enough to earn a share of the spoils, prolonging their unbeaten run in the process.


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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Aberdeen win with a probability of 41.52%. A win for Livingston had a probability of 30.57% and a draw had a probability of 27.9%.

The most likely scoreline for an Aberdeen win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.4%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.36%) and 2-0 (7.93%). The likeliest Livingston win was 0-1 (10.23%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.07%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with an 8.4% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Aberdeen would win this match.


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Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes pictured in April 2019
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Celtic1211103543134
2Aberdeen12101125121331
3RangersRangers12723179823
4Dundee UnitedDundee Utd135531914520
5Motherwell126151616019
6St Mirren145361923-418
7Dundee134362225-315
8Ross County143651222-1015
9St Johnstone144191727-1013
10Kilmarnock133371526-1112
11Hearts142391524-99
12Hibernian131571222-108


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