Scottish Cup | Final

May 24, 2025 at 3pm UK

Ibrox Stadium

Aberdeen vs Celtic

Match preview

Aberdeen have the opportunity to lift spirits when they clash with Celtic in the Scottish FA Cup final. The mood around the club soured after their Scottish Premiership defeat to Dundee United last weekend, which marked their fourth successive loss.

Dundee United claimed fourth place as Aberdeen fell to fifth, dropping from the Europa League to the Conference League qualifiers. Tensions boiled over at full-time when Jack Mackenzie was hit by a chair thrown by an Aberdeen fan.

Jimmy Thelin will be hoping to rejuvenate the mood at Aberdeen by winning the upcoming final, which would secure automatic Europa League qualification and see the Dons claim their first major trophy since the 2013–14 Scottish League Cup.

In a season marked by inconsistency, Aberdeen have shown a level of steadiness in the Scottish FA Cup, securing 3-0 wins over Elgin City and Dunfermline in the fourth and fifth rounds respectively, a 4-1 triumph over Queen's Park in the quarter-finals, and a dramatic 2-1 extra-time win against Hearts in the semi-finals.

These successes have secured their place in the Scottish FA Cup final for the first time since the 2016–17 showdown with Celtic. In that match, the Dons initially took the lead through Jonny Hayes, but Stuart Armstrong swiftly equalised and Tom Rogic scored the winner in the 92^(nd) minute.

Aberdeen will be seeking revenge for that defeat, but their record against Celtic this season is less than encouraging: they have suffered four losses in five meetings across all competitions, with the sole exception being a 2-2 draw in their first encounter.

Celtic dominated the four-match series with a staggering aggregate score of 17–2, including back-to-back 5–1 victories in their most recent clashes. This firmly establishes them as the clear favourites to lift the trophy on Saturday.

Brendan Rodgers has already guided the Bhoys to victory in both the Scottish Premiership and the Scottish League Cup, leaving them on the verge of an astonishing sixth domestic treble in nine seasons.

Ninety-two points from 38 league matches — featuring 29 wins, five draws and four defeats — marks another stellar league-winning campaign. However, this is the lowest tally they have amassed in the last four years.

Surprisingly, three of those defeats came in Celtic's final seven regular-season fixtures, but the Bhoys have bounced back in the subsequent games and are now heading into the final undefeated in their last seven, with five wins and two draws.

This impressive run includes a 5-0 victory over St Johnstone in the Scottish FA Cup semi-final, following earlier successes against Kilmarnock (2-1) in the fourth round, Raith Rovers (5-0) in the fifth round, and Hibernian (2-0) in the quarter-final.

Looking ahead to Saturday's trip to Hampden Park, Celtic have plenty of reasons to be confident of victory. Not only do they boast a record 42 Scottish FA Cup triumphs, including the last two tournaments, but Rodgers has also never lost a match in this competition while managing the Bhoys.

Recent Performance

Aberdeen Scottish Cup form:WWWW

Aberdeen form (all competitions):WWLLLL

Celtic Scottish Cup form:WWWW

Celtic form (all competitions):WWDWWD

Team News

Aberdeen will be without the injured trio of Ester Scheller (leg), Sivert Heltne Nilsen (eye) and Vicente Besuijen (knee). Gavin Molloy remains doubtful, having failed to appear since the 2-1 loss to Ross County at the start of January.

Despite sustaining a facial injury in an incident after the defeat to Dundee Utd, defender Mackenzie has since returned to first-team training and is available for selection.

Alexander Jensen, Kristers Tobers, Mats Knoester and Graeme Shinnie are expected to form the defensive lineup for the final, with Dimitar Mitov in goal. Changes may be made in the more advanced positions following several underwhelming displays in Aberdeen's final league match.

Meanwhile, Celtic will only be without Reo Hatate (knee) and Jota (cruciate ligament) for Saturday's final after both players suffered injuries towards the end of the season.

Alistair Johnston and Cameron Carter-Vickers both returned from brief spells on the sidelines in recent matches, and the defensive duo are likely to be named alongside Liam Scales and Greg Taylor on Saturday, with Kasper Schmeichel also retaining his position in goal.

With Hatate absent, Paulo Bernardo could feature alongside Arne Engels and captain Callum McGregor in midfield, while Nicolas-Gerrit Kuhn, Adam Idah and Daizen Maeda are expected to start in attack.

Possible starting lineup

Aberdeen possible starting lineup:

Mitov; Jensen, Tobers, Knoester, Shinnie; Clarkson, Polvara; Ambrose, Gueye, Okkels; Nisbet

Celtic possible starting lineup:

Schmeichel; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor; Engels, McGregor, Bernardo; Kuhn, Idah, Maeda