Neil Lennon believes Aberdeen can tear up the script and beat Celtic on Saturday afternoon if Derek McInnes’ side score early on in the Scottish Cup final.
The two finalists go up against eachother at Hampden Park in, with the Dons the only hurdle in the Hoops path of completing a sublime treble in Brendan Rodgers’ first season.
Speaking to the Scottish Herald, former Celtic player and manager Lennon sent a warning to Rodgers’ side and urged them to keep the Dons out early on in order to achieve Scottish Cup victory.
“Anything could happen on any given day but I think Aberdeen would need to score first to have a chance because Celtic are really good once they get their noses in front,” Lennon said.
“Brendan’s side play at a tempo and with a quality that none of the others can match and they’ve handled their semi-finals and finals comfortably up until now.”
Celtic have beaten Derek McInnes’ side in all five of the two sides’ meetings this season, securing victory four times in the league and once in the Scottish League Cup before going on to hold the trophy aloft.
Rodgers’ side finished the season with a record points tally of 106 and unbeaten in the top tier of Scottish football, three points more than the previous record set by the Hoops in 2001-02.
Last time the two sides met, Celtic beat the Dons 3-1 on Pittodrie just two weeks ago thanks to goals from Dedryck Boyata, Stuart Armstrong and Leigh Griffiths.
However, they will need to produce a repeat of that in order to secure all three domestic trophies in what is likely to be a tough test against a side who finished second in the league.