Celtic v Aberdeen: Scottish League Cup final – live!

02 December 2018 02:53
Live updates from Hampden Park, kick-off 3pm (GMT)Feel free to email Daniel or tweet @DanielHarris you thoughts 2.53pm GMT Out comes the trophy, and the players who’ll contest it will follow shortly. 2.52pm GMT The noise in Hampden is escalating - imagine if it was razed and a proper ground build in its stead. 2.50pm GMT Derek McInnes is looking forward to the challenge and his team enter competitions looking to win them. He ruled out Devlin in midweek so didn’t plan to have him and this is the same team he picked against Burnley - he’s hoping to make goalscoring opportunities and to defend well. More news as I get it. 2.46pm GMT Brown and Ntcham, he says, can’t affect the game as they would usually when 100 percent fit, which is why they’ve not been selected. 2.46pm GMT Brendan Rodgers is in his bullied at school v-neck and tie combo. He says you can never assume victory and his players “have really taken on board what we’re trying to do”. He is joyously predictable. He says that Scott Bain knows how Celtic play and apparently the big pitch suits him; search me. 2.41pm GMT And Harry Kane has just put Spurs in front from the penalty spot. Find aht all abaht it here: Related: Arsenal v Tottenham: Premier League - live! 2.39pm GMT At the Emirates, Dier has equalised for Spurs and posed in front of the Arsenal fans by way of celebration. There followed a brief meeting between the players, EVERYTHING that NO ONE wants to see. 2.36pm GMT Ryan Christie is another who’s looking good at the moment, and another who is phenomenally assured in front of the camera. The more i think about it, the more Brendan Rodgers has done well to stick with his young players in form because if Celtic are going to improve, they’ll be the ones who make it happen. 2.33pm GMT On BT, they’re talking about the man in form, James Forrest. Previously, he would always look to go on the outside but now he has the impetus to come inside too, and his final ball has also improved. The question, I guess, is whether he’s on a streak or has actually stepped up a level. 2.31pm GMT Aberdeen, meanwhile, are capable of so much better. Just one hour to go until kick-off here at Hampden! #COYR #StandFree pic.twitter.com/qFMo4zCfZL 2.27pm GMT Leisurewear latest: are these quite the right shade of green? Bit bottle for my tastes. Checking in at Hampden ?#BetfredCup pic.twitter.com/aJMHR1LuYC 2.25pm GMT And his uncle, of course, is Barry, who bestowed upon us one of my all-time favourite football quotations. Behold! “People always say it’s a shame someone as talented as Ryan Giggs or George Best before him never played in a World Cup or European Championship and I don’t want my name to be added to that list.” 2.23pm GMT Here’s his auld fella Deek putting in a man of the match performance for Rangers against Aberdeen in the 1986 final. 2.21pm GMT Lewis Ferguson is an extremely pleasant and composed young man. And he has a key role to play today, in behind Cosgrove. It’s unlikely that Aberdeen will have many chances, but the onus is on him to provide some. 2.19pm GMT At the Emirates, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s scuffed penalty has given Arsenal an early lead. You can follow along with that ere and nar. Related: Arsenal v Tottenham: Premier League - live! 2.13pm GMT As for Aberdeen, they move from a 4-1-4-1 to a 4-2-3-1. Often, that doesn’t work well for the inferior team, but they’ll be looking to sit deep and have the option of bringing Ball back into a back five. Otherwise, Mikey Devlin doesn’t make it, so the centre-back pairing of Considine and McKenna, who saw Motherwell score thrice against them last weekend, continue. And up front, the talented by flaky James Wilson drops out with Sam Cosgrove coming in - his pace and leap will be useful off the bench if Aberdeen are still in it after 70 minutes - and May also drops out. 2.10pm GMT Celtic make one change and that’s in net, Scott Bain, who’s been playing in this competition, replaces Craig Gordon, while Scotty Broon fails to win his place back. That’s just about fair enough, as though he’s their talisman, Christie and McGregor have been doing brilliantly in his absence. 2.08pm GMT Celtic (a Brendanphilic 4-2-3-1): Bain; Lustig, Boyata, Benkovic, Tierney; McGregor, Christie; Forrest, Rogic, Sinclair; Edouard. Subs: Gordon, Simunovic, Brown, Griffiths, Gamboa, Hayes, Ntcham.Aberdeen (a circumspect 4-2-3-1): Leiws; Logan, McKenna, Considine, Lowe; Shinnie, Ball; McGinn, Ferguson, Mackay-Steven; Cosgrove. Subs: Cerny, Gleeson, Wilson, Wright, May, Anderson, McLennan. 1.55pm GMT Every trophy in every sport should be called the Skol Cup as today’s pot once was, but here we are instead for the final of the Scottish League Cup. Still, today’s encounter should be an absolute jazzer despite that. Celtic are going for their seventh domestic trophy in a row – every one available since Brendan Rodgers gleamed into town – and are strong favourites to nab another. They’re top of the league, well-placed to progress in Europe, and after an iffyish start to the season have hit their stride in recent weeks. It’s going to take almighty effort to deny them. Continue readingreadfullarticle

Source: TheGuardian