Celtic fans will feel buoyant heading into an exciting week where a place in the Scottish Cup final is at stake for Brendan Rodgers’ men.
Over the weekend, a series of encouraging events in the Scottish Premiership have put the Hoops in a handy position heading into the post-split fixtures, which was kicked off by a convincing 3-0 victory over St Mirren.
Of course, this was coupled with Rangers’ surprise loss to Ross County at the Global Energy Stadium, setting the scene for an intriguing end to the league season.
Nevertheless, cup action is now on the agenda, and Celtic have a chance to book their place in the final of football’s oldest trophy by emerging victorious against Aberdeen.
The Dons come into the clash at Hampden with just one loss to their name in six matches; however, Peter Level will lead them out at the national stadium amid Jimmy Thelin’s proposed arrival from Elfsborg in the summer [Daily Record].
Back in February, former MK Dons man Leven led Aberdeen to a 1-1 draw against Celtic at Pittodrie, where Nicolas Kuhn levelled the scoring, exemplifying his tactical nous despite his side’s obvious deficiencies this term.
Although Hampden is never an easy environment to navigate, Rodgers has never lost in the Scottish Cup, stringing together 15 consecutive wins.
Peter Leven on Aberdeen’s mindset ahead of Celtic clash
Aberdeen caretaker Leven has aspirations of his own to reach the final and has indicated he will motivate his players to ‘believe’ they can take a result against Celtic.
Defensively, he has vowed to adopt a rigid style in the hope of being able to tame a Hoops side that has struck 26 times in their last eight fixtures across all competitions.
Leven stated [Herald Sport]: “Any time you play the Old Firm you’ve got to keep it tight at the back. We’ll work on it this week, go through the game from today and prepare for Celtic.
“The pressure is always on us – we’re Aberdeen. We’ve got to go there and believe we’re going to win. That’s the message I’m going to give, and the players will believe in it.”
Celtic will also have faith they can see off Aberdeen to make the final, which will be against Heart of Midlothian or Rangers on May 25th, with their tie taking place the following day.
Finding a way to claim silverware is everything at Parkhead, meaning there is no room to let up in our pursuit of a domestic double, which we can take a major step towards next weekend.