Alex McLeish believes it could be 'Aberdeen's time' to cause Scottish Cup upset against Celtic
- Published
Lewis Ferguson converted a penalty in stoppage time to earn a draw against Celtic
Scottish Cup semi-final: Celtic v Aberdeen | |
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Venue: Hampden Park, Glasgow Date: Sun, 1 Nov Time: 14:30 GMT | |
Coverage: Listen to commentary on BBC Radio Scotland, follow live updates on the BBC Sport website and app, plus highlights on Sportscene |
Sunday's Scottish Cup semi-final could be Aberdeen's chance to finally topple a vulnerable Celtic side, says former defender Alex McLeish.
The teams play for the second week running, after a 3-3 draw in the Scottish Premiership.
Celtic are chasing a quadruple treble and have regularly beaten Aberdeen during their cup dominance, including in three finals and a semi-final.
"This could be Aberdeen's time," McLeish said.
"Normally, over the years, in fixtures against Celtic we've been used to seeing Celtic score goals in the last 10 minutes.
"Aberdeen showed that resilience at the weekend. Derek McInnes has unleashed the forward players instead of bringing them back, and has a lot of forwards to choose from.
"I think the Aberdeen squad looks stronger [than before], and their bench looks stronger.
"He has a little bit of a nucleus in terms of midfield and defenders, but it's the young guys who have come into the team who look really impressive - Ryan Hedges and Scott Wright are fantastic young players."
'Lack of confidence at Celtic'
Celtic manager Neil Lennon dismissed suggestions of pressure on his job after a run of three games without a win, and showed backing for defender Shane Duffy, who has come under criticism for his performances in recent weeks.
McLeish, who won the Scottish Cup five times as a player with Aberdeen, believes there is a lack of confidence at Celtic, but says Lennon has experience of high-pressure matches.
"Neil [Lennon] will be feeling awful with what has happened the last week, but the measure of the man is for him to bounce back," he said. "He'll know that more than anybody, he's been through these kind of games before.
"There is a little bit of a lack of confidence at Celtic at the moment, with two defeats in a week and a draw at Aberdeen. They're playing for a team that are expected to win every week, which the players will be very aware of."