The preliminaries of the Europa League provide a spicy get-together, because in the Pittodrie, Aberdeen and Burnley are facing each other on Thursday-evening. Let the Battle of Britain begin!
Aberdeen:
Almost all of the attention in the Scottish Premier League goes to Celtic and Rangers, but Aberdeen is doing fine in the shadow of the two top clubs in Glasgow. For the fourth time in a row, the red shirts placed second in the second place, although it seems unlikely that they will be able to knock Celtic off the throne. ‘We simply have too small a budget for that,’ says trainer Derek McInnes. ‘Of course it’s great that we are now compared to clubs like Celtic and Rangers, but if we had more money at our disposal, we could have really participated in the prizes.’ The fans are completely away from McInnes. A fan even went so far as to have the manager’s image tattooed: “My mother does not like it, but I am very happy with what he has done for Aberdeen in the last five years. Hopefully he will not shave off his beard. ”
Aberdeen has been doing fine in recent years, although it is always difficult to estimate where the team is in the early season. The preparation went smoothly with two wins and two draws in four practice matches, although The Dons did not exactly hit the toughest opponents with clubs like Cobh Ramblers and Cove Rangers. The 1-1 draw against the English West Bromwich Albion last Friday was a better gauge in that respect. Sam Cosgrove opened the score with a striking header, but Aberdeen did not hold onto that lead. Particularly after the departure of the Irish attacker Adam Rooney, Aberdeen longs for fresh blood, but the desired acquisitions are not yet received.
Burnley:
Thanks to the formidable seventh place last season in the English Premier League, Burnley qualified for the first time in club history for European football. The players and fans already dreamed of exotic destinations, but were coupled in the preliminary round from Aberdeen, also from Great Britain. The crossing to the European mainland thus leaves us waiting for The Clarets, although of course there is nothing wrong with an authentic Battle of Britain.
Burnley managed to win over powerful clubs like Everton and Leicester City last season, but there is still no room for big investments at Turf Moore. “We are not Liverpool that casually puts 65 million euros on the table for a new keeper,” says trainer Sean Dyche. “This is the world of Burnley, and in that you have to be creative to get new players.” The team managed to keep its main trendsetters, such as Chris Wood, Steven Defour and Nick Pope, inboard, and with victories at Cork City (1-2) and Preston North End (2-3) they had a nice preparation. Against Preston North End Wood remained on the sidelines as a precaution, although he seems to be able to start against Aberdeen. Goalkeeper Pope, who was part of the English World Cup selection as reserve keeper, also has a good chance at a starting point, although Dyche is mainly looking forward to the rest of the season: “We should not be staring blind on Thursday night. The players must not only be fit and sharp against Aberdeen, but also during the rest of the long season. ‘ The chance that the visitors will start at full war strength therefore seems small.
PREDICTION: Under 2.5 goals @ 1.74
