Queen of the South are set to host Aberdeen at Palmerston Park in their first group stage game of Scotland's League Cup on Saturday.
The home side finished seventh in Scotland's League One with 41 points from 36 games, while opponents Aberdeen were ninth in the top flight regular season with 35 points from 33 matches, though they did end the overall season in seventh after topping their relegation playoff group with 48 points.
Match preview
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The hosts will have been disappointed with their league season considering they failed to gain promotion to the second division and will spend a third consecutive term in Scotland's third division after finishing fourth last.
Of the 10 teams in League One, Queens had the third-worst offensive record having scored 46 times, although to their credit they did end the campaign as the league's third-best defensive side having conceded 53 goals.
To add to this, Queens' points tally of 41 was significantly fewer than the 54 they achieved in the 2022-23 season.
Peter Murphy was named manager in May 2024 after the end of the 2023-24 campaign, replacing Marvin Bartely, who left by mutual consent following a disappointing debut managerial season.
His side ended their league season in mixed form having won twice, drawn twice and lost twice in their last six games.
Queen of the South were knocked out of the 2023-24 edition of the League Cup after finishing second in their group behind Motherwell.
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Meanwhile, opponents Aberdeen entered the competition at the knockout stage due to their participation in the Europa League playoff rounds, and they eventually lost to Rangers 1-0 in the final in December 2023.
The Dons have won the Scottish League Cup six times, with the last of these victories occurring in the 2013-14 season.
Their most recent league campaign was disappointing considering they had finished third with 53 points in the 2022-23 regular season, and they only managed to finish ninth out of the 12 teams in Scotland's top flight last term.
To Aberdeen's credit, they did end the campaign on 48 points from 38 games following the conclusion of the relegation playoffs, and their 48 goals scored and 52 conceded meant they had the division's sixth-best offensive and joint fifth-best defensive records respectively.
Manager Jimmy Thelin has been in charge since June after initially being announced in April, and he takes over from Peter Leven, who was the second interim manager of the club after Neil Warnock, who himself took charge after Barry Robson was sacked in January.
Thelin is yet to take charge of a game, but his new team did end the 2023-24 league season in strong form, going unbeaten in their last nine games and winning six of these fixtures.
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The hosts will be without top scorer Gavin Reilly as he has joined Arbroath.
Queen of the South have made several additions on free transfers, including goalkeeper Ross Stewart and midfielders Benjamin Luissint, Brennan Dickenson and Reece Lyon.
Forwards Leighton McIntosh, Kai Kennedy and Josh Walker have also signed for free.
These additions have been vital given that 14 players have also left, including centre-back Efe Ambrose, midfielder Reegan Mimnaugh and striker Lee Connelly.
As for Aberdeen, they come into the game with serious concerns about Junior Hoilett, who suffered a hamstring injury in June while on international duty with Canada.
Hoilett had been in talks to extend his contract at the club after his short-term deal expired, but the 34-year-old's latest injury casts doubt on the chances of a new contract.
Additionally, centre-back Angus MacDonald was sent off in Aberdeen's last league match, and is therefore out of the game.
The Dons have also made a number of additions in the transfer window, including goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov and centre-back Gavin Molloy.
The visitors have also reinforced in attack, with forward Peter Ambrose being brought into the club, while Pape Habib Gueye and Vicente Besuijen have returned following the end of their loans.
As for outgoings, Aberdeen have lost midfielder Connor Barron, left-back Kieran Ngwenya and forward Aaron Reid on free transfers, while centre-back Stefan Gartenmann has returned to FC Midtjylland after the expiry of his loan deal.
Queen of the South possible starting lineup:
Stewart; Logan, Brydon, McClelland; Gibson, Lyon, Ferguson, Luissint, Dickenson; Kennedy, McIntosh
Aberdeen possible starting lineup:
Mitov; Devlin, Molloy, Rubezic, MacKenzie; Polvara, Shinnie; McGrath, Clarkson, Ambrose; Miovski
We say: Queen of the South 1-4 Aberdeen
Although both sides had disappointing campaigns, it is difficult to envisage third division Queen of the South achieving victory against top-flight Aberdeen.
Additionally, the Dons strong end to the season should see them come into Saturday's clash as heavy favourites.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Lewis Nolan
