Dundee will be attempting to get themselves out of the relegation zone on Boxing Day when they travel to face Aberdeen, who were defeated in their last outing.
The Dark Blues head into the game on a four-match losing streak, while the Dons could climb into the top half of the table with a victory.
Match preview
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Aberdeen were defeated in their most recent fixture when they played Hibernian, losing 1-0 after a second-half goal from Ryan Porteous.
This ended a three-match winning streak that the Dons were enjoying, and they will now be keen to get straight back to winning ways on Sunday.
The team have been strong defensively as of late, conceding no more than a single goal in a game during their previous four matches, with Joe Lewis managing to keep two clean sheets in that period.
With Aberdeen currently seventh in the SPL, they will be keen to pick up another three points as that has the potential to put them into the top half table.
However, Stephen Glass shall be hoping for an improved performance from when his team last played Dundee, as the Dark Blues picked up a victory earlier this season.
James McPake's men have only won four games so far in the 2021-22 campaign, and that 2-1 win was one of those as Leigh Griffiths and Luke McCowan got on the scoresheet.
However, the team have failed to score at all in three of their previous four matches, and they have lost all of those which has kept them in the relegation zone.
Despite that, they are still in a position where just one win can take them out of the bottom two, potentially taking them as high as ninth depending on other results.
Yet at the same time, a defeat could see them sink to the foot of the table as St Johnstone are just two points behind, which Dundee will be wary of.
The Dark Blues will need to tighten up defensively though, with no team conceding more goals than them this season, having let in 35 throughout the first 19 games.
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Team News
Michael Devlin is unavailable for Aberdeen at the moment due to an ankle injury, while Andrew Considine is still out as he recovers from a ruptured cruciate ligament.
Club captain Scott Brown did not play against Hibernian due to illness, and the experienced midfielder is a doubt once again for Boxing Day.
For Dundee, they will be without Shaun Byrne until January due to a knee injury, while Lee Ashcroft and Cillian Sheridan are also out of action with long-term problems.
Plus, the Dark Blues will not have their fans behind them due to new COVID-19 restrictions, which is something else that they will have to contend with.
Aberdeen possible starting lineup:
Lewis; Ojo, Gallagher, Bates, Hayes; Campbell, Ferguson; Watkins, Emmanuel-Thomas, Hedges; Ramirez
Dundee possible starting lineup:
Legzdins; Elliot, Fontaine, McGhee, Kerr; McMullan, McGowan, Anderson, McCowan; Mullen, Griffiths
We say: Aberdeen 2-0 Dundee
There is more for Dundee to fight for in this particular match, which should lead to them putting in a great effort as they attempt to get out of the relegation zone.
However, their recent poor form and defensive weaknesses will likely make Aberdeen the favourites, and they should have enough to secure a victory.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Aberdeen win with a probability of 55.31%. A draw had a probability of 24.5% and a win for Dundee had a probability of 20.23%.
The most likely scoreline for an Aberdeen win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.98%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (10.72%) and 2-1 (9.56%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.57%), while for a Dundee win it was 0-1 (7.01%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 9.6% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Aberdeen would win this match.
