Aberdeen Preview

Last updated : 15 November 2002 By Belfast Duncer

Aberdeen Preview

So it's the Northern hate fest against the team who resemble a modern dairy factory - they have no bottle, at least not when visiting the Paranoiadome.

Their flimsy excuse that they had a virus (??) won't wash as this is a repeated scenario every time they head to the East End and the League should do the paying public a favour and just award the game to Celtic as a walkover.

It would be a fairer - with a walkover you only get a 3-0 victory so it would help us if the League were to come down to goal difference.

No doubt they'll be well up for this one and will charge into us quicker than one of their 'fans' can get into a 70 year old man.

Still, no defeats against this mob in the last 16 SPL games, and with the right attitude I think it will be 17 games undefeated because if we match their work rate then they quite simply don't have the quality to hurt us.

Four of our last five visits there have resulted in a Light Blue victory with the other one being a draw. We may have lost 23 out of 53 at Pit-tawdry but the majority of these were in the dark days, and with players returning to full fitness quicker than a Larsson dive I'm more than confident.

I don't see a great many changes, although I'm hopeful Moore and Amo will be back as the Malcolm - Bertie partnership is about as inspiring as a wet weekend in Aberdeen.

Even if one returns it would be a vast improvement, and a boost for the rest of the team. Expect Barry to continue playing a captain's role, and hopefully young Mikel will be fit to continue his rich vein of form. If all hit it off then Aberdeen could be in for a long 90 minutes.

I take Rangers to win 2-0. I take a returning Deboer and Arveladze to score the goals, and the reduced number of Bears to be singing on the way home.