Live blog: Rangers v Aberdeen as Jimmy Thelin's side bid to close the gap on third-place Hibernian
The Dons suffered a 1-0 loss at St Mirren on their last outing and will be looking to bounce back against Barry Ferguson's side.
Follow all the build-up, action and reaction from today's encounter at Ibrox in our live blog.
Former Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes is at Ibrox to take in today's game amid speculation he could be making the move from Kilmarnock to Tynecastle to become the new Hearts manager. He is on media duties for Sky Sports today.
Jimmy Thelin has shuffled his pack following the defeat in Paisley with four changes.
Into the starting line-up come Latvia international Kristers Tobers, Dante Polvara, Jamie McGrath and Oday Dabbagh.
Ante Palaversa, Kevin Nisbet and player of the year Shayden Morris drop to the bench, while on-loan Tottenham defender Alfie Dorrington misses out.
The Dons have struggled away from Pittodrie this season and have won just two of the last 16 Premiership matches on the road.
Midfielder Ante Palaversa has warned Aberdeen must fix their away day woes to keep alive the bid to finish third in the Premiership.
The 25-year-old said: 'We have to change that mentality as a team and go to win away games like we're winning the home games.'
Read our interview with the Aberdeen midfielder here.
It was a day of contrasting fortunes for the north sides who were in action yesterday.
Ross County's relegation fears deepened with a seventh successive defeat after going down 2-1 at bottom of the league St Johnstone. You can read Andy Skinner's report from McDiarmid Park and Don Cowie's post-match thoughts here.
Elgin City's hopes of winning promotion from League Two are over despite winning 2-1 at Annan yesterday wit Allan Hale's side going down 5-4 on aggregate.
But it was a better day for Cove Rangers who defeated Queen of the South 2-1 to set-up a showdown with Airdrieonians in the Championship play-off final.
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Daily Mail
13 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
No love lost as angry Rangers fans are already running out of patience... that's the Russell Martin effect
After filleting his Rangers players following the atrociousness of their opening-day draw at Motherwell, Russell Martin later insisted the criticism came from 'a place of love'. In truth, it felt like a man having second thoughts about just how hard he went. When the Ibrox support decided to flip the script on Saturday night and make it clear what they think about him, there was absolutely no love lost at all. There are plenty of adjectives to describe what kind of place the old stadium did become when it looked like Dundee were going to return to Tayside with a surprise — yet thoroughly deserved — win, but they have nothing to do with love. They have everything to do with anger, disgust, contempt, frustration and disbelief. Make no mistake, Martin is a man with a major problem here. Two games into the league season or not. CEO Patrick Stewart and the club's US owners took a long, long time to appoint the former Swansea and Southampton boss and they'll want to give him a long, long time to implement the changes in style and culture he talks about. However, if the atmosphere at home games continues to turn like it did in this 1-1 draw against a team widely expected to be bottom-six fodder, no one is going to survive that longer-term. No matter how much the senior management are behind them. It was evident from the moment Martin arrived in June that he wasn't a popular pick. It's often hard to gauge exactly what supporters think of players and coaches these days, though. Internet zoomers colour the issue. Their high-octane rantings and ravings can create a false impression of what the body of the kirk actually feels. On Saturday's evidence, it looks like the zoomers, perhaps for the first time since the worldwide web was invented, didn't go far enough. It was wild inside Ibrox at times during long spells of that second half. It felt like end-of-days stuff, the way it was when the likes of Michael Beale or Philippe Clement or Giovanni van Bronckhorst were on their last legs, all hope lost and their pea-hearted players disappearing into their shells. With Dundee a goal in front from Ryan Astley's looping 51st-minute header, having already hit the post in the first half through Clark Robertson, a double substitution by Martin lit the touchpaper. Punters made it clear they were unhappy about Lyall Cameron, who had arguably been the liveliest Rangers player on the field, going off for Nico Raskin. When Kieran Dowell came on for Mohamed Diomande, though, the boos shook the foundations. Dowell is not going to make it at Rangers. He was shipped out on loan to Birmingham last term for a reason and it's a surprise he hasn't gone back there. Martin came out strongly to defend him after the final whistle, insisting he trains like a beast, is a good footballer, is liked around the club. Not amongst the support he isn't. They've had enough of him. As one colleague remarked when the dust had settled at the weekend, Dowell is a strange hill for Martin to die on. Max Aarons is becoming a problem too. It got to the stage where the on-loan Bournemouth man was being jeered every time he touched the ball. Replacing him with James Tavernier, shortly after Nasser Djiga had been sent off for denying Fin Robertson a goalscoring opportunity, was an act of mercy. That Tavernier needs to make way for a younger model is clear. It's just that Aarons isn't offering much to suggest he's the answer following his switch from the left to his preferred right-back beat. It's hard to know where to begin with the other stuff that had home fans pulling their hair out. Essentially, this game felt no different to so much of the substandard stuff they've spent the last four years or more watching. That it came in the wake of a splendid three-goal win over Viktoria Plzen in Champions League qualifying fitted the trend. Hyped-up for Europe, in hibernation for the Premiership. That's how Rangers have been for a while now and it looks like it's the way it might continue. Djeidi Gassama and Oliver Antman were unplayable against Plzen. Against Dundee, they could barely get given the ball. There was no zip, no tempo, no penetration, pointless possession, players failing to take risks, failing to do what it takes to beat the low block. Martin has his ideas on the style he wants to put in place, but he doesn't appear to have the depth of talent at his disposal to achieve that. Whether Rangers have the financial muscle required to buy individuals of that calibre is an issue too. It will certainly need crisp, precise passers of the ball. And that puts Jack Butland, John Souttar and others on notice. In these closing weeks of the window, it's clear a new keeper, left-back, centre-back and centre-forward will have to be bought. That will probably require some people being sold, but there's no sign yet of the 'player-trading model' cranking efficiently into life. It's just not good. The vibe around Rangers is not good. Yes, Tavernier got a point in time added-on with a penalty after Drey Wright had brought down Gassama and Cyriel Dessers, who was back to his normal self after a good display against Plzen, had a 97th-minute effort chalked off for offside. It's important to consider the chances Dundee had to win too. On 78 minutes and a goal up, Fin Robertson broke clear. The visitors were two against one inside the Rangers half. All it needed was a simple ball to play in Ashley Hay for the finish. Instead, Robertson dallied and Raskin put in a saving tackle. Then, at 1-1 in stoppage-time, Astley put the ball just over when being afforded a free header from a corner, another example of how poor this Rangers side are at defending set-pieces. Dundee, so good and disciplined for most of this match that their manager Steven Pressley said he could have cried for them, should have won. Just like Motherwell should have won the week before. One thing Martin has got right, though, is in predicting that Rangers fans will have to go through considerable pain in travelling this path towards enlightenment with him. Travelling out of Glasgow on a late-night bus on Saturday evening, a twentysomething Rangers fan, dressed only in team top and swimming shorts, four sheets to the wind, made for the personification of that, alone in his thoughts on the top deck. Following a vaguely comedic period of continually dropping his telephone on the floor, he spent the latter part of his journey quietly headbutting the window amid dark, incoherent mumblings. A Rangers-supporting friend was texted about it. 'That's the Russell Martin Effect,' he replied. Dearie me. Rangers (4-3-3): Butland 6; Aarons 4 (Tavernier 64), Djiga 3, Souttar 4, Jefte 5 (Curtis 77); Diomande 5 (Dowell 55), Rothwell 6 (Danilo 64), Cameron 7 (Raskin 55); Antman 5, Dessers 5, Gassama 6. Booked: Antman, Dessers. Sent off: Djiga. Manager: Russell Martin 3. Dundee (5-4-1): McCracken 7; Samuels 8 (Donnelly 90), Graham 8, C ROBERTSON 9, Astley 8, Wright 7; Westley 7 (Yogane 67), Jones 7 (Koumetio 90), F Robertson 7, Digby 7; Hay 7 (Acquah 82). Booked: F Robertson. Manager: Steven Pressley 8. Referee: Don Robertson. Attendance: 48,958.
Rhyl Journal
14 minutes ago
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Leicester strike late after resistance of beleaguered Sheff Wed players and fans
Wednesday have had to endure a turbulent off-season and are under a number of Football League-imposed embargoes for various financial breaches, including the payment of wages to players and staff being delayed for the last three months. Wednesday fans made their feelings known to Chansiri by delaying their entry to their seats and the away end was visibly empty as the players came onto the pitch at the King Power Stadium, with a banner that read 'SWFC for sale – enough is enough'. The Owls had just 15 senior players on the books ahead of their season-opener but produced a determined display against the Foxes. After five minutes, the fans made their way into the ground and were greeted with applause from the Leicester fans. For Wednesday, it was an achievement of its own to be on the pitch for the first game but they stunned the King Power into silence when Nathaniel Chalobah gave the visitors a shock lead midway through the first half, and it was thoroughly deserved. Wednesday's resilience was broken when Jannik Vestergaard equalised early in the second period and, if Wednesday already did not have a mountain to climb, captain Barry Bannan was sent off with 14 minutes to play. Leicester, who started a new era after relegation from the Premier League under new boss Marti Cifuentes, left it late to grab the winner through Faes and were reminded that life back in the Championship may not be as plain sailing as the last time they were in the second tier. A spirited Wednesday side almost grabbed an early opener, Chalobah driving forward with the ball an unleashing an effort which needed to be tipped onto the post by Jakub Stolarczyk. Pierce Charles was brought into action with three routine saves in first 15 minutes but the hosts came closest when Bilal El Khannouss' effort from distance was marginally dragged wide. Against the script, an already emotional away end erupted in the 26th minute. Yan Valery cut the ball back to Chalobah on the edge of the box and he sent a strike towards goal which deflected off Oliver Skipp and into the net. Leicester should have been on level terms three minutes before the break – a corner whipped towards the back post was headed back across goal by Caleb Okoli but Vestergaaard headed wide. Leicester wanted a penalty at end of the half when El Khannous' strike seemingly hit the arm of Bannan as boos rang around the stadium at the break. Leicester City fans applaud Sheffield Wednesday supporters in solidarity amid the club's ongoing financial struggles, as fans hold off entering the stadium in protest. — Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) August 10, 2025 The Foxes put Wednesday under the pump at the beginning of the second period as the visitors could not get out of their own half and the pressure paid. El Khannouss' low delivery from a free-kick evaded everyone inside the box and Vestergaard pounced to finish high into the net. Valery and Chalobah both went off injured and Wednesday's task was made harder when Bannan was given his marching orders for a second booking for a late challenge on Harry Winks. Leicester finally found the winner three minutes from time. Charles was in inspired form and he denied a Patson Daka header from point blank range but there was nothing he could do from the resulting corner when El Khannouss whipped a corner onto the head of Faes, who guided home.
Daily Record
15 minutes ago
- Daily Record
'My team have let me down again' admits hurting Rangers fan as unyielding Celtic dominance sets the Hotline on fire
Robbie Copeland takes your calls after Celtic moved four ahead of their rivals – just two games into the season We're two games into the Premiership season – and already the gap between Celtic and Rangers sits at four points. As you'd expect, the Ibrox faithful on the Hotline aren't taking that particularly well. John Spence, South Ayrshire, said: "Two league games in and we're already four points behind Celtic. With that, even at this stage of the season we're under pressure and every team in the Premiership will fancy their chances against us. "Aside from Beale the managers who've followed Stevie G have decent pedigrees, and we have had and still have some good players. So there's something endemically wrong here and the new owners need to, and I believe will, address this. And there's no point in binning Martin early doors to pacify the reactionary members of our fan base. "Massive change throughout the club are obviously required so be open with us about this, tell us what the plan is, give us some idea of timescales, and we will endure." And Alan Flett said: "My team have let me down again but I stand by what I said. Celtic are as good as they're ever going to be, and it's only a matter of time before the Gers are back in our rightful place." A 2-0 win over Aberdeen was enough to keep Celtic's 100 per cent start going and Stephen Mulhern, Dumbarton, said: "That was sweet revenge after losing the penalty shootout to deny us the Treble. And after witnessing Reo Hatate's stunning strike, you can already put that down as a contender for goal of the season. "Rangers even this early are a busted flush but I fear with no competition on the domestic front the Celtic board won't release the funds to bring in the quality striker that Rodgers craves." Kenneth Wilson, Moffat, said: "A solid performance from the champions at a tricky venue, certainly still not at their best but another clean sheet although Aberdeen offered very little of a threat. But money must be spent on a top striker ASAP because Adam Idah offered nothing yet again. But after listening to Rangers fans saying they're back, I have to agree they certainly are back to normal with a dodgy injury time penalty to get an undeserved point." But it wasn't all rosey in the garden at Parkhead as John Caw said: "Eighty years I have been watching Celtic but the way they are playing is driving me crazy. Backwards, every ball going back. It's like watching zombies. The second goal was played with pace and panache, beautiful. Then it is backwards. Cameron Carter-Vickers would put you to sleep. Come on Brendan, back to the beautiful game." Back at Rangers, the familiar theme of flying in Europe and crash-landing in the league struck again after their 1-1 draw with Dundee. Lewis Fotheringham, Mount Ellen, said: "Rangers are confusing. Play like Real Madrid in Europe, but Real Kashmir in the Scottish Premiership." And Glen Mitchell said: "Well it appears to any reasonably minded person that the Premiership is significantly harder than the Europa League. That should have been a loss for Ibrox yesterday, but along came the penalty that wasn't. "The proof is staring us in the face already, and it bodes well for Scottish football. It's all very well getting results against poor continental opposition, but if you cannot perform in the bread and butter matches, you are never going to achieve anything much, which is really how its always been."
