Chris Sutton makes claim about Rangers v Aberdeen, tries to ramp up pressure on Gers
Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton claims this weekend will be a “pivotal” one in the Scottish Premiership title race between Rangers and their Old Firm rivals.
On Saturday Celtic travel to Hibernian, while Rangers welcome Aberdeen to Ibrox on Sunday, with the Gers nine points clear at the top of the table.
Neil Lennon’s side do have two games in hand though and Sutton backs Aberdeen to cause Steven Gerrard’s side issues.
“Rangers also have a potentially tough one with Aberdeen at Ibrox tomorrow so we might have one of those pivotal weekends on our hands already,” he said (via Daily Record).
“Derek McInnes has got them playing well and they have caused Rangers plenty of problems in recent years. It’s always better to play on the Saturday – but only if you win. It puts the onus on your rival the next day and you can sit back and see how they handle the heat.”
Sutton is correct in saying that the Dons have caused Rangers issues in recent years, with Gerrard’s side only managing a draw in two of their three league meetings last season.
However, the Gers ran out 1-0 winners when the two teams met at Pittodrie in August and were largely dominant despite the tight scoreline. Ryan Kent opened the scoring on 21 minutes following an Alfredo Morelos assist and over the 90 minutes they racked up 15 shots to Aberdeen’s four. Rangers also dominated possession 60.1% to 39.9% and had six corners to two (via WhoScored).
Despite their dominance last time out, Gerrard will not go into this match complacent and knows how important maintaining this form will be. Celtic have struggled this season but the gap remains small and the former England man will know that maintaining such a pace for the whole season will be difficult. Rangers must capitalise on their momentum while they have it and should be able to come out on top against Derek McInnes’ side.
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