Aberdeen have a knack of upsetting the odds when they take on Celtic and coincidence has given the Dons the chance to end another long unbeaten run when they welcome the Invincibles to Pittodrie tomorrow.
The meeting of the best two teams in the Scottish Premiership is one to whet the appetite.
The team which wins moves three points clear of the other at the top of the Premiership. A win for the Dons inflicts a first domestic defeat on Brendan Rodgers and ends a remarkable and hugely impressive 60-game unbeaten run.
Five memorable league meetings between Aberdeen and Celtic from through the years
It is a tall order, but Aberdeen are the best placed of any side in the country to do it. Not that it makes their task an easy one.
Records are there to be broken and no one knows that better than former Don Duncan Shearer.
Shearer served Aberdeen as a player and coach and he was in the dugout when the Dons stunned the Hoops at Parkhead in April, 2004.
Martin O’Neill’s side had just won the SPL title and was preparing for a title celebration in front of their home support in a midweek fixture.
Aberdeen went there not in hope or expectation, but more in hope of avoiding a heavy defeat.
It had been a struggle of a season for Steve Paterson’s side and it was limping towards the finishing line without nine first-team players. Russell Anderson, Scott Booth, Michael Hart, Kevin McNaughton, Fergus Tiernan, Zander Diamond, Phil McGuire, Chris Clark and Leigh Hinds were all absent due to injury for the trip to Parkhead to face a Celtic team which was unbeaten in 77 home games.
Domestically, no club had beaten them. In European competition, Juventus, Barcelona, Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Valencia had all failed to win in Glasgow during that run. For the Dons, it was a case of who was left was who played. What followed was the mother of all upsets as goals from Bryan Prunty and David Zdrilic gave Aberdeen a famous 2-1 win.
Zdrilic had the distinction of becoming the first Dons player to score the winner at Parkhead since Mixu Paatelainen in a 1-0 victory on September 4, 1993.
It is no surprise the game is easy to recall for Shearer.
He said: “We had a horrendous injury list and it was basically the first team who were all out.
“We brought in kids such as Scott Morrison, Richard Buckley and Craig Higgins while David Donald was on the bench at the age of 16.
“To call it bare bones doesn’t come close. Honestly, we went there fearing the worst. Celtic had just won the league and we feared if they got a couple of early goals they could run riot. It could have been a really long night for us.
“But it was a night which summed up what football is all about. Our lads put in an unbelievable performance and it was a night where a fantastic group of kids and some old heads came together as a team and did something special.
“Stevie Paterson called that night the proudest he had been of a group of players and believed the achievement was even bigger than winning there with Caley Thistle. That shows you how incredible a result it was.”
It was a stunning upset, not just to the media and supporters of both clubs, but to the home manager as well.
Shearer said: “It’s funny, my lasting memory isn’t the game but what happened afterwards. Stevie and I were sitting in Martin O’Neill’s office after the game and he came in and slapped Stevie on the back of the head.
“He said: ‘What do you think you are doing coming here and doing that? Barcelona couldn’t beat us here and you come and beat us with your youth team. What are you playing at?’
“It was a real compliment to what we had done.”
Aberdeen upset the odds then and have the chance to do it again tomorrow as they try to stop the unbeaten Hoops making it to match 61 unscathed.
Shearer expects the Hoops to comfortably win the title come May, regardless of tomorrow’s result, but knows both managers will be aware of the task they face at Pittodrie.
He said: “People see this game as a free hit for Aberdeen, but I’m sure Derek McInnes doesn’t see it that way. He wants to close the gap on Celtic and the head to head games are his best chance of doing that. He knows it and so does Brendan Rodgers which is why it will be such an interesting game.
“In the course of a season Celtic are going to pick up more points than Aberdeen. They’ve got the squad and the resources which surpass all the other clubs, but what Derek doesn’t want is to finish 20 or 30 points behind them.
“He wants to try to halve that gap at least and looking at the way Aberdeen has established itself, he wants his club to finish 10 to 15 points clear of everyone else in second place.
“That’s the progress he is looking for from his side.”