The Dons and Scottish Premiership rivals Celtic will lock horns in Sunday’s Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden Park.
Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes has given his honest opinion of Celtic and their players ahead of their Scottish Cup semi-final tie.
The two sides lock horns at Hampden Park on Sunday looking to reach next month’s final, with the winner facing either Hearts or Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
Celtic, who are on course for the treble treble, have faced the Dons four times this season – thrice in the Scottish Premiership, winning twice and drawing once, and also triumphing in the Scottish League Cup final in December.
However, McInnes says the last few encounters have yielded good performances from his side – indeed, Aberdeen’s last meeting with the Hoops in March ended in a goalless draw – which will give them confidence heading into the latest fixture.
“What’s clear in the Celtic squad is that they have fantastic players, good individuals and individuals who can win a game on their own,” he told Sky Sports News. “They’ve always been a very driven and experienced squad and they’ve been used to winning things.
“However, the last few times we’ve faced them we’ve always been in the game, we’ve been very close to winning, and we feel we’ve done enough in recent matches against them to go into this game with plenty of confidence.”
McInnes will lead Aberdeen to the club’s eighth national semi-final since he took charge in 2013 and has already claimed one Old Firm scalp this term, beating Steven Gerrard’s side in March’s Scottish Cup quarter-final replay.
As reported by the Daily Record, the referee in charge of Sunday’s semi-final tie is Craig Thomson, who was also in the middle when the two sides last met, in the goalless draw at Parkhead on 9 March.
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