Aberdeen V Ross County at Pittodrie Stadium : Match Preview

24 February 2017 18:34
Aberdeen V Ross County - view commentary, squad, and statistics of the game live.


Shay Logan hopes home comforts help Aberdeen finish season in second

Shay Logan hopes home comforts can help Aberdeen retain their second spot in the Ladbrokes Premiership.

Starting with the visit of Ross County on Saturday, the Dons play at Pittodrie in five of their last eight fixtures before the split.

And no matter how third-placed Rangers fare at Inverness on Friday night, Derek McInnes' side will go into the game ahead of the Light Blues, who will begin the match six points behind.

Aberdeen have lost only twice in the league in the Granite City this season, both times to runaway league leaders Celtic, and it is that home form which encourages the 29-year-old defender.

"There is no reason why we can't stay in second spot and I am confident we will stay there but there are still 13 games to go and plenty of points still available," he said.

"We have to take it game by game. At the end of the season if you finish in second or third place, it is normally a fair reflection of what has happened during the season.

"We have five home games coming up before the split and every team prefers playing at home so hopefully that will help us.

"It is a good chance to pick up some points. We have a good home record and teams know it is tough when they come here. But we take it game by game."

Aberdeen manager McInnes has a full squad to choose from with Graeme Shinnie, Jayden Stockley and Peter Pawlett pushing for starts after coming off the bench to help the Dons win at Kilmarnock last weekend. Frank Ross is added to the squad after missing the trip to Rugby Park with a knock.

Alex Schalk believes a win at Pittodrie on Saturday could be the spark Ross County need to flip their run of misery on its head.

The Highlanders have won just one game since the turn of the year and none at all in their last five.

To add to their woes, they must now take on an in-form Aberdeen side still buzzing from their recent seven-goal demolition job on Motherwell and Sunday's come-from-behind triumph over Kilmarnock.

But Dutch forward Schalk thinks victory over Dons in the Granite City will set off a reversal of fortunes for Jim McIntyre's Staggies.

The 24-year-old said: "Our recent results against Aberdeen have been quite good. We played them in the Scottish Cup a couple of weeks ago and lost 1-0. The game was a bit of a scrap and the goal we lost was unlucky.

"But we know we can beat them. We beat them last year at Pittodrie. It's always good to go to grounds like that and get results. And we need results now. We have no excuses left, we just need to get the points.

"Maybe we are a bit down in confidence right now but we just need one moment to change that and turn us round 180 degrees."

McIntyre will be without midfielders Christopher Routis (hamstring) and Chris Burke (illness).


Source: PAR