McLean set for Dons bow
Kenny McLean could make his Aberdeen debut against Ross County following his deadline-day signing from St Mirren.
But defender Lukas Culjak is not expected to be part of the first-team squad.
Centre-backs Ashton Taylor and Russell Anderson remain out with knee injuries along with Nicky Low while Declan McManus rejoined Morton on loan.
Aberdeen defender Shay Logan believes the Dons can outpace Celtic in the race for the title if the bid for four trophies leaves Ronny Deila's side flagging.
While last week's QTS Scottish League Cup semi-final defeat to Dundee United means the Reds have only the Scottish Premiership to concentrate on, the Hoops are still fighting on all fronts.
They face Inter Milan in the first leg of their Europa League last-32 clash on February 19 and will hope to make strides in the William Hill Scottish Cup this weekend against Dundee.
The first part of a domestic treble could be completed if Celtic see off United in the March 15 League Cup showpiece.
But Logan hopes grafting for all that silverware will tire out their rivals.
He said: "Celtic will have an awful lot more games to play than us over the next few weeks.
"We don't know how they are going to do. They have a big squad and it will come down to how their manager uses their players.
"At the start of the season when we had gone through all those games in the Europa League we were a bit tired.
"So it might give us an advantage. We're a very fit team so if teams are playing a lot more games you would put us ahead of them coming into it.
"But it will be difficult to say until those games happen."
The Dons will hope to bounce back from their Hampden heartache when they host Ross County this Saturday.
The League Cup holders hoped to at least extend their defence of the trophy for another month but were cruelly beaten in Glasgow by Jackie McNamara's men after Nadir Ciftci's late header sealed a 2-1 win.
Irish striker Adam Rooney thought he had given his team a precious lead midway through the second half but saw it chalked off by referee Steven McLean for a push on Calum Butcher.
But Logan has watched the footage back and still can't see what his team-mate did wrong.
"Having seen the goal myself I just can't understand why it wasn't allowed," he said. "There is absolutely nothing in it whatsoever.
"The referee maybe thinks he has seen something in it but it definitely should have stood.
"But we can't dwell on it. We're out of the cup. It's a disappointing result and it's sickening.
"However, we've got a big game against Ross County on Saturday and a win will hopefully keep us in the mix by putting pressure on the people at the top."
Ross County defender Scott Boyd is targeting three points for the Dingwall side.
County's last league win, a 3-0 triumph away to Kilmarnock, came on November 8 - the same weekend that Aberdeen last lost a Scottish Premiership game.
Boyd is well aware of the quality in the Aberdeen side, who strengthened their squad with the deadline day signing of St Mirren talisman Kenny McLean, but is relishing the opportunity of causing an upset at Pittodrie.
The centre-back said: "They're obviously flying high and they're doing really well this season so it's another difficult game for us but it's something that we're relishing and really looking forward to.
"We want to be challenging ourselves. We look at it as another chance to get points on the board. We've been working all week on how we're going to play. We'll take our game plan into the match and hopefully we can get the win."
Boyd, who has been at County for seven years, said that the team had taken heart from their narrow defeat to Celtic and point at Inverness, and is hoping the Staggies can build on that for the rest of the season.
The 28-year-old said: "It was a great performance for the lads and we were unfortunate in the end. We finished the game strong and were unfortunate not to take the three points so it's definitely something we're going to build on and hopefully take it into Saturday's game against Aberdeen.
"We have got our squad in now and the last two matches we have been very solid and created chances. It's something we can build on and hopefully give us a platform to climb up the league."
Source: PA
