It seems safe to say that Aberdeen probably isn't all Mark McGhee thought it would be. The city may have wealth in abundance in certain areas but Pittodrie certainly isn't one of them. Rather than having the cash to bring in quality players, he has been reduced to scrambling around for free transfers. That is not to say the pair he has signed aren't any good, but shopping in the bargain basement certainly didn't seem to be his cup of tea at Motherwell.
Neither, it is fair to say, was bringing through youngsters. That has already changed, perhaps only through necessity, at Aberdeen with Fyvie and Crawford both playing in the midfield against Hamilton last week. That match brought him his first win as Aberdeen manager so he could be tempted to stick with the kids even if Gary McDonald has recovered from injury. Diamond will definitely miss out from the defence though.
A 'Well attack last trip
Our injury situation looks decent at present with only Darren Smith definitely ruled out. Hammell must be a doubt after missing the last match but whether we would wish to change the back four even if he is fit is debatable. Coke appears to be turning into a real player in the centre of the park and with Forbes and O'Brien in great form we do have some creativity. Sutton did well to get on the scoresheet against Killie so it would seem unlikely that he'll be dropped now meaning Murphy or new signing Jutkiewicz will support him.
There is no reason to think Motherwell cannot defeat Aberdeen if we play to our best. It is also true that if we are below par we could struggle to take something so a hedging of the bets could be wise in front of this 1-1 draw.
Remember our last visit to Aberdeen?