Our home record hasn't been particularly good of late and we are probably long overdue a win. We have yet to win at Greenhill Road this year - although in fairness have only had two home games - and have managed only one league win in Paisley since the mid November. That was the Boxing Day hammering of Dundee United, which was rather unexpected. If we're to avoid the relegation play-offs we need to desperately improve our home form as our away record isn't much to write home about either.
In recent years a game against Aberdeen has been a realistic chance for us to register a victory, especially at home. Sadly, that doesn't seem to be the case this season. They have finally started looking like the team their fans believe they should be and the media are loving the fact that they have got themselves sorted out. Yes, we managed to draw with them in September and almost beat them, but I reckon this will be a rather different encounter. Having said that, we weren't particularly good back then either so maybe there is a cause for optimism after all - although we haven't beaten them in the league for two and a half years.
If we're to end that run we'll need to improve greatly on our display at Tannadice last week. We offered very little going forward and at times we were a shambles defensively. If we do that again tomorrow then we will get punished, while it is hard enough forcing openings against Aberdeen at the best of times. We need to ensure we're solid at the back and pose more of a threat in attack otherwise the points will be heading up the road.
The defence will be different to the one we used last week as Marc McAusland is suspended. We have no other centre halfs, with Sean Kelly and Jason Naismith likely to continue at fullback, so the only obvious option is to move Jim Goodwin back into defence. It's not ideal but at least Eric Djemba-Djemba can step into the defensive midfield role. He looked short of match fitness last week but also showed some nice touches at times and should have benefited from an extra week training with his new team-mates. This will be his first home game so hopefully he can put on a decent show.
There are likely to be other changes to the team as we have John McGinn and Gregg Wylde back. We desperately missed McGinn last week and he'll come straight into the team, while we could probably do with Wylde or Adam Campbell to inject some pace and provide Steven Thompson with a bit more support. Confusing things further - in a good way - is the fact we now have Gary Teale available again. Last week was his first appearance for a while so it's unlikely he'll start, but at least he is there as an option. Josh Magennis isn't as he's not allowed to play against his proper club, while the mysterious Stephane Bahoken will be missing once more.
Aberdeen are finally living up to all the hype this season. I chuckled last year when they were tipped to finish second and didn't even make the top six, but this year they really do look as if they'll finish second. More importantly, they've got a fantastic chance to end a wait of more than 18 years for a trophy as they'll face Inverness Caley Thistle in the League Cup Final next month. They also beat Celtic in the Scottish Cup last week, providing much amusement for those not of a green and white persuasion. Derek McInnes has really turned things round, much to the delight of the media, and the safe and solid years of Craig Brown seem to be a thing of the past.
Annoyingly for us Aberdeen boosted their attacking options during January, not that they were exactly lacking to start with. They brought in Adam Rooney from Oldham, a player we were supposedly interested in. He should prove to be a good signing and scored on his debut against Motherwell as well as in the semi-final win. Niall McGinn is still the headline goalscorer though and his hit nine goals this season despite often being used in a wider role. Scott Vernon hasn't enjoyed a great season, but still managed to score against us, while Calvin Zola looks decent at times and horrifically bad at others. That has limited the chances for youngster Cammy Smith as he continues to be blooded into the team.
Aberdeen fans get a bit carried away at times and proof of that is that they think Jamie Langfield should be in the Scotland squad. Aside from the fact we have better goalies than him, the veteran keeper is also prone to the odd error that would be regularly punished at international level. He isn't called Clangers for nothing, although in fairness he's having a fairly good season. Dons fans may have more of a point in claiming Mark Reynolds should be in the squad and he probably has more of a chance as we're a bit short of defenders at the moment. Russell Anderson's international time has probably been but he and Andrew Considine continue to do well, while the versatile Alan Tate has joined on loan from Swansea. He has spent a decade with the Welsh club and could be a great signing. With a few injury problems at the back McInnes has also signed Shaleum Logan on loan from Brentford. Joe Shaughnessy broke into the team last year and has done a fairly good job at rightback, but Clark Robertson has had major injury problems.
In fact, the defensive injuries have been so bad for Aberdeen that they've even had to play Johnny Hayes at fullback. The winger caused us lots of problems during his time at Inverness Caley Thistle but has been playing in an unfamiliar role. Fortunately for Aberdeen they can afford to have him at the back as their other wingers are doing well. McGinn is playing there, while Peter Pawlett hasn't looked back from last season's loan at St Johnstone - although he does still like the odd dive. The far more experienced duo of Willo Flood and Barry Robson have been terrific since their summer arrivals, the latter having hurt us on numerous occasions in the past - including earlier this season. Ryan Jack has been terrific in midfield but sadly is injured at the moment, while Nicky Low has shown at times he looks to be a prospect.
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