Do miracles come this big for Aberdeen against Celtic?

Scottish Cup final: Aberdeen v Celtic

Venue: Hampden Park, Glasgow Date: Saturday, 24 May Kick-off: 15:00 BST

Coverage: Watch connected BBC One Scotland, perceive connected BBC Radio Scotland & Sounds, unrecorded matter commentary connected nan BBC Sport website & app

In outlining a lawsuit for Aberdeen upsetting nan likelihood and winning nan Scottish Cup last connected Saturday - nan Dons are friendless astatine 6-1 - Pittodrie midfielder Dante Polvara gave it his champion shot, a benignant of dribbler that veered disconnected successful nan wide guidance of nan area flag.

No unit and nary expectation, said nan Aberdeen man of his team's prospects against treble-chasing Celtic, a valiant effort astatine turning their past 4 results against nan champions into a positive.

The Dons person mislaid those games 5-1, 5-1, 1-0 and 6-0.

The constituent of a free hit, "some luck from nan shot Gods" and "you ne'er cognize what could happen", nan 24-year-old American said.

If Aberdeen were not successful specified lousy shape past you mightiness situation to dream connected their behalf. As it is, pinch 4 defeats successful a statement connected apical of nan psychological baggage of nary triumph against Celtic successful 30 games stretching backmost 7 years, you person to wonderment if miracles really travel this big.

Rangers, but besides Livingston, Ross County, St Mirren, Hibernian, Heart of Midlothian and Kilmarnock person each beaten Celtic astatine slightest doubly since Aberdeen past did so.

It's a funny thing, this red-clad intelligence barrier. The aggregate people since their triumph successful 2018 is Celtic 79 Aberdeen 22.

So, successful fairness to Dante and his hopes for a Celtic inferno, astir group deliberation they astir apt do cognize what's going to hap connected Saturday, including galore fatalistic Aberdeen supporters who are travelling successful awesome numbers but not, you suspect, pinch a full batch of belief.

Polvara is looking to nan heavens, but nan God of nan footballing underdog doesn't thin to show up connected days for illustration this. Scottish Cup finals person delivered 2 genuine shocks successful much than half a period - Dundee United beating Rangers successful 1994 and Aberdeen beating Celtic successful 1970.

As Celtic manager, Brendan Rodgers has had 38 cup ties successful home shot and he has won 37 of them. Some person been landslides, others person been hairy.

They person conceded perchance morale-sapping equalisers successful minutes 88 and 119 to spell to penalties but person won some shoot-outs.

They won past season's Scottish Cup last pinch virtually nan past kick, Adam Idah scoring. They won nan 2017 last successful akin fashion, Tom Rogic getting nan victor against Aberdeen successful nan 92nd minute.

The only clip nan Gods person shined connected Celtic's opponents successful these knockout games against a Rodgers squad was erstwhile Kilmarnock hit them successful nan League Cup past season. In each those cup-tie hours nether Rodgers, they person trailed for a full of 130 minutes, scoring 133 and conceding 29.

The Celtic head has ne'er mislaid astatine Hampden.

How does Aberdeen counterpart Jimmy Thelin hit them? You are reminded of what Walter Smith erstwhile said earlier playing Juventus successful nan Champions League.

The past Rangers head was asked really do you extremity Alessandro del Piero? "With a gun," nan awesome man replied, successful afloat gallows humour mode.

Rodgers holds each nan aces successful position of players and resources, but different clubs successful different countries person akin power and yet do not hoover up each that Rodgers hoovers up. Occasionally, moreover nan monied ones get caught.

None of nan accepted Italian superpowers won nan Coppa Italia this season. Lewis Ferguson's Bologna did. It was their first trophy successful 51 years. The biggest guns successful England sewage beaten to nan FA Cup by Crystal Palace, nan first awesome trophy successful their 164-year history.

On Saturday, nan German Cup last will not characteristic Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen aliases Borussia Dortmund. Stuttgart, ninth successful nan Bundesliga, will look Arminia Bielefeld, nan champions of Bundesliga 3. Bielefeld person been astir for 120 years and person ne'er won 1 of nan large trophies. Will nan twelvemonth of nan underdog widen to nan Dons?

One of Rodgers' awesome strengths - and 1 of Aberdeen's galore challenges - is his expertise to spot complacency coming from a mile away. He perpetually sets his players caller targets to support them connected their toes.

The different time he was talking astir them "etching their names into nan concrete" of nan club.

Many of them person already done that, of course, but arsenic a portion of motivation, it works. It's a powerful image, a extremity to chase. Outside Celtic, group will crave a alteration successful narrative, a twist successful nan communicative of what they spot arsenic boring Parkhead dominance.

No doubt, Rodgers uses that, too. Everybody is waiting for nan Celtic head and his squad to autumn flat, but they hardly ever do.

You could insubstantial nan magnitude and breadth of nan city's Union Street pinch nan things that Aberdeen must do and different things that Celtic must not beryllium allowed to do successful bid to origin an upset.

The awesome 2-2 tie they sewage successful Glasgow successful October seems for illustration an eternity ago.

Since then, carnage. A twelve different Celtic goalscorers and an aggregate of 17-2. Daizen Maeda has scored 5 goals successful 3 games against nan Dons.

In Aberdeen's caller mediocre run, they've had nan ruinous inclination to concede successful clusters - 2 successful 7 minutes against Dundee United, 3 successful 9 minutes against Celtic and 2 successful six minutes against Rangers.

The truth that Celtic people successful clusters is simply a unspeakable threat for them. In home games, Rodgers' squad person scored successful nan mode of a boxer landing lethal combinations.

They people and, erstwhile an force is still dazed, they people again and nan occupation is done. On 20 different occasions, they person scored doubly aliases 3 times successful bursts of betwixt 2 and 10 minutes. Aberdeen person been 1 of their main victims successful that regard.

Dons fans will fearfulness that this could beryllium an early knockout. Thelin's Herculean occupation is to group his squad up to frustrate and onslaught retired erstwhile nan infinitesimal arises. Resilience, concentration, discipline, ruthlessness.

Given that they are debased connected assurance and extremity threat, precocious connected protect vulnerability, and of a questionable mentality, past he is looking to propulsion disconnected 1 of nan awesome cup last shocks of modern times.

If he tin spot it, he mightiness beryllium nan only one. If he makes it hap past nan triumph will return its spot successful nan dusty annals of Hampden giant-killing.