Rory Loy
BBC Scotland in Helsinki

If they could win tonight and beat Frankfurt, that's €1m in the bank.

That could be one or two new players. That could be the difference between third and fourth. That could mean replacing Bojan Miovski with a player of the same quality if he leaves in January.

I don't think you can overlook he financial aspect.

Thomas Duncan
BBC Scotland in Helsinki

With their domestic season over, HJK have played just twice - home and away against Eintracht Frankfurt - since clinching their fourth straight Finnish title five weeks ago.

The league was sealed in unconvincing fashion with Helsinki losing their last two games, including to their closest rivals KuPS on the final day, only to hold on to their crown on goal difference.

It means they have lost all four matches since their 1-1 draw at Pittodrie in October, and it was announced head coach Toni Korkeakunnas will leave the club at the end of their Conference League campaign.

HJK are stronger at home having won 12 of their 20 matches at the Bolt Arena this season, and six of their last 12 in European competition.

They have only failed to score in three of those 20 games, including the 1-0 defeat by Frankfurt last time out, while PAOK left it late to secure a 3-2 win at the Bolt Arena in the opening round of games.

Given the artificial surface and the freezing conditions which are forecast, HJK will look to utilise home advantage in their final match of in front of their own fans this year.

Image source, Getty Images

• Aberdeen last defeated Finnish opposition in a 2019 Europa League qualifier, beating RoPS 4-2 on aggregate.

• Barry Robson's side, who are 10th in the Scottish Premiership, are without a win in their past three games in all competitions.

• HJK Helsinki, who have won the 2023 Finnish title, have lost their past four games and have not played since losing 1-0 at home to Eintracht Frankfurt on 9 November.

• The Finnish champions have featured in all three of the Uefa competitions this season, having parachuted from the Champions League to the Europa League and then the Conference League.

• The Helsinki side and Aberdeen cannot progress from Group G, but either team could yet finish third.

Aberdeen are out. We knew that three weeks ago.

Their opponents tonight also can't go any further, but third place and a respectable points tally are both achievable.

A win for the Dons in Finland will secure their current position and consign HJK to bottom spot.

Image source, SNS/BBC

Willie, don't let Barry Robson hear you say that.

"Tell 1,500 fans coming over here it's a dead rubber," the Pittodrie boss said yesterday. "It isn't, you're playing for Aberdeen.

"We want to make sure we put some more points on the board and we want to put a really good performance on for the fans who have spent a lot of money to come over here.

"It's a game we want to try and win, the frustration for me is that for the performance levels we've had in Europe, I don't think we are sitting on the points we deserve."

Willie Miller
Former Aberdeen defender on BBC Sportsound

I think these are players that have been part, generally, of the squad.

It's disruptive, but you've got to look at the bigger picture. This game means nothing, it's a dead rubber.

I think the changes are a wise move with Hibs on Sunday. He's given these players an opportunity.

Rory Loy
BBC Scotland in Helsinki

I think it'll be tough. I think it'll be a challenge.

The team selection - it shows that if there was a conversation between Barry Robson and the board about the prize money for winning games in Europe, Robson won that conversation.

It looks to me like they're concentrating on Sunday at Easter Road, in what'll be a big game in the league.

Image source, SNS

Helsinki is cold. Very cold.

My motor said it was 1.5C driving in here earlier and I'm still struggling to get a heat in me.

A quick search tells me it's about -5C over there. Taps aff, then?

BBC Radio Scotland Extra

It's a bumper Sportsound tonight, five-and-a-half-hours of the good stuff to be exact.

BBC Radio Scotland Extra is the station you need to catch commentary from Helsinki and Ibrox.

Tyrone Smith
BBC Scotland in Helsinki

Aberdeen would have been hoping to travel to Finland with something tangible to play for in terms of qualification from Group G.

Sadly that isn’t the case. Despite a number of very impressive showings on the continental stage, those haven’t been reflected by their tally of points.

The Dons go into tonight’s game with HJK third in the table - a point above HJK - with their hopes of progressing to the knockout stages now over.

However, there is still plenty to play for tonight. As well as pride, there is also a financial incentive too.

The cash on offer for a win is about £430,00 - that's something not to be sniffed at.

They will believe they can get the victory against a team whose domestic campaign finished at the end of last month.

The sides shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw at Pittodrie at the start of October - the Dons created enough chances to win that night.

In the end they didn’t, a game that was viewed as a missed opportunity for Barry Robson’s side.

Just the seven changes for Aberdeen following Sunday's draw with Rangers.

Among them, wing-back Jack Milne makes his first appearance of the season while Pape Gueye makes his first start for the Dons up top.

He'll play alongside Duk in attack, with Angus MacDonald, Connor Barron, Dante Polvara and Jonny Hayes also coming in.

Nicky Devlin, Stefan Gartenmann, Jamie McGrath, Leighton Clarkson, Graeme Shinnie, Ester Sokler and Bojan Miovski all drop to the bench.

Image source, SNS

HJK Helsinki XI: Maenpaa, Halme, Tenho, Peltola, Soiri, Lingman, Kanellopoulos, Keskinen, Hostikka, Radulovic, Bande.

Substitutes: Ost, Ollila, Hamalainen, Toivio, Da Graca, Filip, Paananen, Raitala, Kouassivi-Benissan, Olusanya, Tanaka, Hetemaj.

Aberdeen XI: Roos, Rubezic, MacDonald, Jensen, Milne, Polvara, Barron, Duncan, Hayes, Duk, Gueye.

Substitutes: Doohan, Devlin, Shinnie, Gartenmann, McGrath, Miovski, Clarkson, McGarry, Williams, Sokler, Dadia, Marshall.

Image source, SNS

Celtic joined Aberdeen in being dumped out of Europe on Tuesday.

Rangers are now the last Scots standing. We'll find out if they can secure continental football after Christmas a bit later.

In the meantime, the Dons play their penultimate Conference League group game against HJK Helsinki in a freezin' Finland.

Let's get straight to the team news for that one...