The first New Firm derby of the season could be best described as the inconsistent versus the disconsolate.
Aberdeen head for Dundee United hoping they can take their freescoring form from Pittodrie on the road.
They face a Tangerines outfit seemingly incapable of keeping the ball out of their own net.
Something has to give.
You could write a book on the turnaround in fortunes for the two teams since they last met on February 26 in what was Jim Goodwin’s first home game in charge of the Dons, as well as Sir Alex Ferguson’s homecoming at Pittodrie.
The shares were spoiled in a 1-1 draw and it was United who went on to secure a place in Europe thanks to their fourth-place finish.
Aberdeen’s top six bid had long since faltered and they finished 10th.
Since then Goodwin has presided over a huge overhaul of his squad, signing a whole new team.
United have gone through a transformation of their own – but it has been in the dugout.
Tam Courts left for Honved, while his replacement Jack Ross lasted two months – or seven matches – before he was shown the door.
With so much upheaval it should come as no surprise to see the team which started as European hopefuls now propping up the Premiership and still searching for their first win in the league.
Liam Fox is now in charge at Tannadice and the size of the task was laid bare last weekend as St Johnstone won 2-1 in Dundee to leave United isolated with two points from their opening eight games.
With Aberdeen set to invade Tannadice, backed by 4,000 expectant supporters, United need to find something form somewhere if they are to avoid further pain.
United’s defensive dismay
United fans should look away now as their season so far makes for worrying viewing.
With 22 goals conceded, the Tangerines boast the worst defensive record in the league.
There is not a penalty there either, with 18 conceded in open play, three coming from corners and the other from a free kick.
With 15 of them conceded at home, nine of which can be attributed to Celtic following the astonishing rout which signalled the end of Ross’ tenure, there have been precious few home comforts for the United faithful.
In response the Tangerines have just one goal to show from their four games at home so far and that was Tony Watt’s consolation against the Perth Saints on Saturday.
Can Aberdeen’s attack perform away from Pittodrie?
The challenge for the Dons of course is to take their excellent goalscoring from at Pittodrie on the road.
Aberdeen have scored 18 goals in their eight games so far, but only three have come away from home.
If the Dons who have entertained at Pittodrie show up at Tannadice, then it could be a long afternoon for the home side and their new head coach.
United can take some comfort from the fact Aberdeen’s defensive issues of last season have not yet been solved.
Goodwin’s men have conceded 11 goals so far – and six have come from set-pieces.
Unfortunately for United, they have just four goals to show from their eight games to date and only one has been a set-piece chance.
Given the Dons have scored six set-piece goals of their own and United’s porous defence has shipped four from those situations, the case can be made for the visitors carrying the bigger threat in those situations on Saturday.
Attacking threats
With just four goals in the league so far, it should come as no surprise to see four different players share the Tannadice goalscoring chart with a goal apiece.
Aberdeen’s threat comes from a few quarters.
Bojan Miovski leads the way with seven goals from his eight matches, while Duk has chipped in with three league goals so far, too.
Considering he has only had four attempts at goal to date, it’s an impressive return.
Add in widemen Vicente Besuijen and Jonny Hayes, and returning attacking midfielder Leighton Clarkson, and the threats come from various positions.
United’s wretched run must come to a stop at some point, but they are going to need a drastic improvement in every department if Saturday will be that day.
You can see why Dons fans have reasons to be feeling confident about this 6pm kick-off.
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