Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic side have started their domestic campaign on fire.
The Hoops have conceded just once away to Ross County in the Premiership and have hit the goal trail themselves with 22 strikes in just seven matches.
It has been a scintillating start for the club with a number of key stars – Callum McGregor, Nicolas Kuhn, Daizen Maeda among others – turning in unplayable performances.
The perfect start, then, for Celts. But this weekend’s rivals have also somehow put together a perfect run of their own.
Jimmy Thelin’s Aberdeen are unbeaten in the same number of fixtures. Seven wins from seven albeit with a significantly lesser goal difference.
A start unheard of at Pittodrie and one the optimistic Dons will be determined to maintain at Parkhead this weekend.
It is certainly not a given that Rodgers‘ troops show up and win and it’s sure to be a difficult yet entertaining 90 or so minutes of football when they come to town.
And Celtic have been fired that same warning by Stephen McGinn on GO Radio who spotted a similar issue creeping in back when they narrowly beat Hearts in mid-September.
Celtic narrowly beat Hearts after the previous international break
The international break had just ended and it was a somewhat lethargic showing from the reigning champions who did, in the end, get the job done.
And Falkirk captain McGinn, a diehard Celtic fan, has urged the players to remember the pitfalls against the Jambos to ensure it’s more comfortable this weekend against Aberdeen as he offered his prediction.
“I think Celtic 3-1,” McGinn revealed. “The warning sign for me from the Celtic point of view is the last time off the back international break. Obviously, guys come back from Canada, Japan.
Celtic players on international duty had far to travel
“They weren’t quite as firing against Hearts. I think the message from Brendan Rodgers will be, if we play like that tomorrow, Aberdeen are better side. Saturday, they’re a better side than Hearts.
“They’ll cause us real issues. I think Celtic will find that extra gear. They know how big a game it is. I think they’ll win 3-1.”
Manager Rodgers had the majority of his squad away with their respective international sides including the likes of Reo Hatate and Maeda with Japan, form defender Alistair Johnston with the Canadian set-up and Auston Trusty won his first USA cap in over a year.
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