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Keskinen flashes in only goal for Aberdeen Leaders Hearts suffer first league defeat & stay four clear having played game more Colin Moffat Aberdeen v Hearts (15: 00) Lawrence Shankland has hit 10 goals for Hearts so far and took his tally for the season to 11 in Scotland's 4-2 win against Denmark. His absence is nothing to do with the World Cup qualifying celebrations, head coach Derek Mc Innes explains. A slip on icy Astroturf in training. .. We'll hear a bit more from the Hearts gaffer soon. Aberdeen v Hearts (15: 00) Hearts' closest rivals all won yesterday, with Celtic now four points behind after a last-gasp goal from Callum Mc Gregor at St Mirren. Hibs and Rangers are both nine adrift of the table-toppers. Callum Mc Gregor's Celtic goal came on 95 minutes Aberdeen v Hearts (15: 00) Willie Miller Former Scotland captain on BBC Sportsound When I heard that news, my heart sank a little bit. Jesper Karlsson will be a huge miss. Aberdeen v Hearts (15: 00) Hearts are without captain Lawrence Shankland, with the striker ruled out by a calf injury. Maybe a dance move gone wrong after the Scotland celebrations? Frankie Kent has timed his return from injury well since he takes over from the suspended Craig Halkett. Michael Steinwender is chosen at the back and a bit of shuffling around has Caludio Braga moving up top to replace Shankland. Aberdeen v Hearts (15: 00) The headline from the home team sheet is Jesper Karlsson's absence, which is due to a family matter. Skipper Graeme Shinnie is on bench for this one, with Richard Jensen returning. Adil Aouchiche and Topi Keskinen are also in the starting XI, with Emmanuel Gyamfi joining his captain among the subs. Aberdeen v Hearts (15: 00) Aberdeen: Mitov, Devlin, Milne, Knoester, Lobban, Polvara, Aouchiche, Armstrong, Jensen, Lazetic, Keskinen. Substitutes: Suman, Shinnie, Nisbet, Bilalovic, Milanovic, Kjartansson, Molloy, Clarkson, Gyamfi. Heart of Midlothian: Schwolow, Steinwender, Kent, Findlay, Mc Entee, Devlin, Magnusson, Milne, Kyziridis, Braga, Kabore. Substitutes: Gordon, Kabangu, Mc Cart, Kerjota, Spittal, Wilson, Borchgrevink, Forrest. Aberdeen v Hearts (15: 00) Unbeaten leaders Hearts visit Aberdeen in the final Scottish Premiership fixture of the weekend. Can the Edinburgh side restore their seven-point advantage at a ground where they have struggled over the years? Both sides are missing their top scorers. Team news coming right up. Hearts head coach Derek Mc Innes is on familiar ground today At a glance Hearts drop points for the third time in four games as title charge falters Keskinen goal gives Aberdeen rare home win - their second in 10 games Kent, Milne and Magnusson all spurn chances for leaders Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts' stuttering form continued as they suffered their first league defeat of the season, Topi Keskinen's goal giving Aberdeen a surprise victory at Pittodrie. Since beating Celtic, Derek Mc Innes' side have dropped points in three of their four games and the Tynecastle side's nascent title charge seems to have lost some of its propulsion. Their nine-point lead is now down to four over Celtic, having played a game more. While it was Hearts who had the better chances, all of them were spurned and instead it was Keskinen who clinically finished into the bottom corner in the 39th minute against the run of play. Both sides were without their star men - Aberdeen missing Jesper Karlsson and Hearts without Lawrence Shankland - and it initially affected the hosts' far more. They struggled to create, while Hearts passed up opportunities when Frankie Kent headed straight at the keeper from a few yards out, and Harry Milne hit the crossbar from close range. When Aberdeen got their only clear-cut chance, they took it. Kent struggled to clear a ball forward which allowed Keskinen the chance to lash past Alexander Schwolow. Hearts continued to have moments in the second-half. Tomas Magnusson placed a header straight at Dimitar Mitov, and Claudio Braga was denied by the goalkeeper when he looked certain to score. There was no way to goal though, meaning Hearts haven't won in 13 visits to Pittodrie, dating back to 2016. If ever there was a time to end a rotten record that now stretches to almost a decade, it was against a barren Aberdeen side that was missing its best player. The Pittodrie team's creativity has come almost exclusively through Sweden international Karlsson, but he was missing for personal reasons today in news that sank the hearts of home fans. Jimmy Thelin's side were able to create just two chances throughout - a left-footed shot from Dylan Lobban that Schwolow was fully behind, and the goal. As for Hearts, it was a day of missed chances. An x G of 1. 71 compared to Aberdeen's 0. 45 tells you that they enjoyed their fair chunk of opportunities. But without their top scorer Shankland, and a brand new strike partnership of Pierre Landry Kabore and Braga that needed time to gel, they were blunt. Against them, it was an all-action performance from Mats Knoester, and a coming-of-age performance from Jack Milne. The former won more tackles than anyone else, and made 16 clearances, more than double of any of his team-mates. Are Hearts falling apart again, as the home fans goaded their visitors by singing? Judging from the chances created, no. On another day, they might well have been walking away with all three points given the chances created. This was their first lost in 16 games under Derek Mc Innes - a penalty shoot-out League Cup loss aside - but that's just five points from the last 12 available. They've certainly hit a bump in the road, but will it tip the cart over or can they re-right themselves in time for a busy festive period? Aberdeen are in European action against Armenian side Noah on Thursday (20: 00 GMT) before travelling to visit Livingston next Sunday (15: 00). Hearts welcome Motherwell on Saturday in league action (15: 00), with the chance to re-establish their seven-point lead before Celtic play the following day. After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users. Last Updated 23rd November 2025 at 16: 55 Please Note: All times UK. Tables are subject to change. The BBC is not responsible for any changes that may be made. Manager: Jimmy Thelin Formation: 3 - 4 - 2 - 1 Manager: Derek Mc Innes Formation: 5 - 4 - 1 Manager: Jimmy Thelin Formation: 3 - 4 - 2 - 1 Manager: Derek Mc Innes Formation: 5 - 4 - 1 Scottish Premiership All competitions All competitions All competitions Aberdeen are unbeaten in their last 13 home league meetings with Heart of Midlothian (W10 D3) since a 1-0 defeat in May 2016 under now-Hearts boss Derek Mc Innes. Hearts are unbeaten in their last three league meetings with Aberdeen (W1 D2), last going four without losing to the Dons in April 2014. After a run of 10 Scottish Premiership matches without a victory between May and September (D1 L9), a run that saw them fail to score at all in six consecutive matches, Aberdeen have since lost just one of their last five in the competition (W3 D1) scoring in all five matches. After winning six consecutive league matches from August to October, Hearts have drawn two of their last three matches in the competition (W1), as many draws as they recorded in their previous 24 in the competition. Hearts’ Lawrence Shankland, the top scorer in the Scottish Premiership with seven goals, has managed just one fewer goal this term in the competition than opponents Aberdeen have scored as a team (8). Copyright © 2025 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.