Celtic will secure an eighth successive Scottish Premiership title on Saturday if they secure even a point against Aberdeen at Pittodrie.
The fixture comes less than 24 hours after the funeral of all-time great Billy McNeill, the 1967 European Cup-winning captain, and at the end of a week that saw the loss of a second Lisbon Lion in the form of Stevie Chalmers.
After a narrow 1-0 success over Kilmarnock last weekend , Neil Lennon’s side will be eager to get the point they need ahead of a trip to Ibrox for the Old Firm match in a week’s time.
Against a Dons side they have beaten four times out of five this season, they will be very confident.
| Game | Aberdeen vs Celtic |
| Date | Saturday, May 4 |
| Time | 12:30pm BST / 7:30am ET |
TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
For UK readers, get your fix on the latest football on TV here! US readers can find out what soccer is on TV here!
In the United States (US), the game can be streamed live on B/R Live.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| n/a | B/R Live |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game will be broadcast on Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Main Event. It can be streamed via Sky Go.
| UK TV channel | Online |
|---|---|
| Sky Sports Main Event / Sky Sports Football | Sky Go |
Squads & Team News
| Position | Aberdeen squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Lewis, Cerny |
| Defenders | Ball, McKenna, Considine, Lowe, Devlin, Halford, Logan, Ball |
| Midfielders | Ferguson, Gleeson, Stewart, McLennan, Campbell |
| Forwards | Cosgrove, May, Wilson, Stewart |
Aberdeen are missing countless important players ahead of Saturday’s clash, notably in the defence. Tommie Hoban is injured along with Graeme Shinnie. Andrew Considine is banned.
Elsewhere, Frank Ross, Gary Mackay-Steven, Niall McGinn and Connor McLennan are missing.
Aberdeen starting XI: Lewis; Logan, Devlin, McKenna,Lowe; Ball, Ferguson; Stewart, May, Wilson; Cosgrove.
Subs: Virtanen, Halford, Cerny, Campbell, Dangana, Ross, MacKenzie.
| Position | Celtic squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Bain, De Vries |
| Defenders | Toljan, Izaguirre, Gamboa, Lustig, Benkovic, Ajer, Tierney, Simunovic, Tierney |
| Midfielders | Bitton, Brown, Sinclair, Hayes, Ntcham, McGregor, Forrest, Henderson, Rogic |
| Forwards | Edouard, Weah, Johnston |
Celtic have received some positive news on the injury front, with Neil Lennon declaring Kieran Tierney fit to play, albeit the left-back will need double hernia surgery at the end of the season.
Eboue Kouassi is back training after serious knee ligament damage suffered last October, though he will not feature before the summer break.
There remains a long list of absentees, with Tony Ralston, Dedryck Boyata and Jack Hendry missing in the defence.
Ryan Christie continues to be sidelined after an injury when these sides last met.
Daniel Arzani and Vakoun Bayo are injured and Leigh Griffiths remains on leave.
Celtic starting XI: Bain; Lustig, Simunovic, Ajer, Tierney; Brown, McGregor; Forrest, Rogic, Weah; Edouard.
Subs: De Vries, Toljan, Sinclair, Hayes, Ntcham, Burke, Benkovic.
Betting & Match Odds
Celtic are the odds-on favourites at 8/13 according to bet365 . Aberdeen are meanwhile priced at 9/2, while a draw is available at 14/5.
Match Preview
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Celtic have the opportunity to seal their eighth-successive major Scottish trophy on Saturday, when they visit Aberdeen’s home of Pittodrie – a symbolic moment as the Hoops continue their quest for the ‘treble treble’.
Less than three weeks after the feisty Scottish Cup semi-final clash between the pair, which saw Aberdeen play the last 20 minutes down to nine men after Lewis Ferguson was dismissed, following first-half red card recipient Dominic Ball down the tunnel, the teams meet again.
Celtic ran out comfortable 3-0 winners in that encounter, but it came at a cost as Ryan Christie suffered a serious facial injury against his former club, rendering him absent for the rest of the season.
The memory of this will give the Glasgow side all the more fuel to go on and win the game.
Neil Lennon’s side have struggled by their high standards in recent weeks, though. A symbolic goal from No.5 Jozo Simunovic with the clock showing 67 last week – two numbers indelibly associated with late club legend Billy McNeill, who had passed away earlier in the week – prevented them from sliding to a third-successive 0-0 draw in the league as they edged Kilmarnock at home.
Another titan of Celtic’s history passed this week in the form of Stevie Chalmers, the man who scored the winning goal in the 1967 European Cup final. Fans with a belief in fate will, therefore, be looking for a decisive strike in the 84th minute.
Meanwhile, Aberdeen are seeking to get back on track after a 2-0 loss away to Ibrox last weekend, which came of the back of defeats to Celtic and Kilmarnock – all controversial fixtures, with six red cards shown in total.
Goalkeeper Joe Lewis does not think the Hoops can be stopped from winning the league, but he does hope it won’t happen on Sunday.
“We’ll go into the game looking to win the game. They can win the title here and I think it’s inevitable that they will win it at some stage. We can stop that happening here and get our three points to help our cause,” the former Fulham and Cardiff goalkeeper told his club’s official website.
“It’s not necessarily to stop their cause, but we’ve got our own things to try and achieve this season. European football’s hugely important for the football club and we need to secure that as soon as possible.”
Celtic, meanwhile, will want to ensure that next week’s Glasgow derby with Rangers is little more than a dead rubber.
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