After taking their Europa League destiny into their own hands, Celtic travel to Hampden Park on Sunday to tackle Aberdeen in the Scottish League Cup final.
Brendan Rodgers has swept the board in terms of domestic trophies since taking charge at Parkhead two years ago and will aim to continue that perfect record against a Dons side not quite as competitive as they have grown used to being in recent seasons.
Moreover, Celtic have a psychological edge on their opponents, having beaten them in two cup finals in two years. Buoyant, they go into this match expecting to complete a hat-trick.
| Game | Aberdeen vs Celtic |
| Date | Sunday, December 2 |
| Time | 3pm GMT / 10am ET |
TV Channel, Live Stream & How To Watch
In the United States (US), the game can be streamed live online via B/R Live.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| N/A | B/R Live |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game can be watched live on TV on BT Sport 1 and BT Sport 4K UHD it can be streamed live online using the BT Sport app.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| BT Sport 1 / BT Sport 4k UHD | BT Sport app |
Squads & Team News
| Position | Aberdeen squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Lewis, Cerny |
| Defenders | McKenna, Hoban, Reynolds, Devlin, Ball, Shinnie, Considine, Lowe, Logan |
| Midfielders | Gleeson, Tansey, Ferguson, Makay-Steven, Forrester |
| Forwards | McGinn, Wilson, May, Wright, Cosgrove, Anderson |
Mark Reynolds, Tommie Hoban and Greg Tansey are all regular starters missing from the Aberdeen panel due to injury, while Frank Ross is also sidelined.
Centre-back Mikey Devlin is a doubt but looks likely to miss out.
Possible Aberdeen XI: Lewis; Logan, McKenna, Considine, Lowe; Shinne; May, McGinn, Ferguson, Mackay-Steven; Wilson
| Position | Celtic squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Gordon, Bain, Hazard |
| Defenders | Izaguirre, Hendry, Simunovic, Gamboa, Boyata, Lustig, Benkovic, Ralston, Tierney |
| Midfielders | Brown, Sinclair, Hayes, Morgan, Rogic, Ntcham, Mulumbu, Ajer, McGregor, Forrest, Johnston, Kouassi |
| Forwards | Griffiths, Christie, Edouard |
Celtic will have to take into account fatigue levels after their midweek exploits in Norway, but are not expected to make too many changes.
Brendan Rodgers has already confirmed that Scott Bain will keep goal, having played previous matches in this competition, while he is without a number of players due to injury, with Kristoffer Ajer, Jozo Simunovic, Nir Bitton and Daniel Arzani the most prominent.
Mikael Lustig and James Forrest went off injured on Thursday but are expected to play.
Scott Brown returned from injury in midweek, but after only a brief cameo, this game may come too soon for him to start.
Possible Celtic XI: Bain; Lustig, Benkovic, Boyata, Tierney; McGregor, Christie; Forrest, Rogic, Sinclair; Edouard
Betting & Match Odds
Celtic are favourites to win according to bet365 , who give odds of 4/9 on a victory for the league leaders. Aberdeen are rated 10/3 to win and a draw is available at 6/1.
Match Preview
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Following Celtic’s 1-0 victory over Rosenborg on Thursday, Brendan Rodgers was in buoyant mood.
Scott Sinclair’s first-half header ensured that the Bhoys go into their final group stage match against Red Bull Salzburg needing only a point to qualify for the knockout stages, with their opponents having already won the group.
Moreover, after a poor start to the season, they are back on top of the Scottish Premiership heading into the weekend, having looked much more like their old selves in recent weeks.
“Going into a League Cup Final, I would say this is the best level of performance, probably because we have been together longer and won trophies,” he said following the midweek victory.
“We love playing at Hampden, the pitch suits us. It’s a big pitch and we couldn’t be going into the game in a better way.
“We will prepare for a tough game, of course, but our aim is to win.”
Rodgers has an excellent record against the Dons, having won 10 of his previous 11 clashes with the Pittodrie side, who find themselves sixth in the Premiership table and fighting to stay in the race for Europe.
They approach the game in a very different mood to the Hoops, having been thumped 3-0 at Motherwell last weekend in what was a quite wretched display.
Derek McInnes was apoplectic after that clash, stating: “It was an awful performance and a total contrast to how we’ve been on late. We’ve shown resilience, kept plenty clean sheets and restricted the opponents but today we were well beaten all over the pitch and two of the goals we conceded were calamitous.”
Having lost the 2016-17 League Cup and Scottish Cup finals to Celtic, the latter due to a last-gasp strike from Tom Rogic, McInnes knows just how good his side will have to be if they are to cause an upset at Hampden.
