Aberdeen and Hibernian square off at Pittodrie on Friday evening with just one point separating the clubs in the Scottish Premiership standings.

However, the fourth-placed hosts have one game in hand on the visitors, who sit above them, and will move into third position with a win.

Match preview

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When Aberdeen took an early lead at Rangers last time out, Jim Goodwin would have been optimistic about his side inflicting more misery on their hosts.

Nevertheless, it eventually proved to be a similar story on the road for the Dons, who succumbed to a 4-1 defeat at Ibrox and have now conceded 15 goals in six away league fixtures this campaign.

Overall, Aberdeen have the joint-fourth worst defensive record in the division, yet they have not suffered successive defeats in the top flight all season and remain a win away from moving into third spot.

At Pittodrie, Aberdeen have collected 12 points from five games, scoring 17 times in the process, and they have not lost at the home ground in the league since August 13.

While Bojan Miovski remains at the top of the goalscoring charts with eight goals, the Macedonia international only has three strikes to his name since the start of September.

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Meanwhile, Hibs head into this encounter having crucially got back to winning ways last weekend after previously suffering three defeats in succession.

That followed a four-match winning streak, but a return of five wins from eight games can now be viewed in a positive light given the manner of their 3-0 success over rivals St Mirren.

For the first time since the opening weekend, Ewan Henderson stepped up for his team, chipping in with an assist and a goal in the space of four second-half minutes to seal maximum points.

However, Lee Johnson's team make the long trip to Aberdeen having lost four of their last five away fixtures in the Scottish Premiership, that solitary win coming at bottom-placed Ross County.

Team News

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Despite losing heavily at Rangers last weekend, Goodwin may not make widespread changes to his Aberdeen starting lineup.

Hayden Coulson could get the nod at left wing-back, but the remainder of the side could stay the same, with Jonny Hayes likely staying sidelined with a groin injury.

Kyle Magennis is back in contention for Hibs after serving a one-match ban for two yellow cards collected against St Johnstone.

With that coming on his first start of the season, the midfielder is unlikely to earn an immediate recall, but Martin Boyle will almost certainly miss out with a knee problem.

That should result in young Norwegian Elias Melkersen being brought into the team for his fourth start of the season.

Aberdeen possible starting lineup:
Roos; McCrorie, Stewart, Scales; Richardson, Barron, Ramadani, Clarkson, Coulson; Miovski, Duk

Hibernian possible starting lineup:
Marshall; Porteous, Bushiri, Hanlon; Cadden, Henderson, Kenneh, Newell, Cabraja; Kukharevych, Melkersen

We say: Aberdeen 1-1 Hibernian

Despite their lofty league positions, neither side have been performing to the best of their ability of late. With that in mind, we feel that both teams will be content with a share of the spoils as they bid to avoid losing ground on the other.

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