Dundee manager Paul Hartley expects goals against Aberdeen

Dundee boss Paul Hartley expects plenty of goals in Saturday's midday showdown against Aberdeen, live on Sky Sports.

The former Aberdeen midfielder recalled the games between the two sides last season as "exciting with loads of goals and plenty of action."

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In the five meetings there were 18 goals - with each team scoring nine - while their only meeting this term saw Adam Rooney's double secure a 2-0 win for Aberdeen at Pittodrie.

Dundee have drawn five out of their last six league games, with Hartley claiming they have been unlucky not to take all three points on at least two of those occasions.

Speaking to Sky Sports News HQ he said:  "The last two performances have been excellent against two of the in-form teams; away to Hearts and away to St Johnstone last week."

"We've drawn a lot of games but we aren't getting beat. We're a tough team to play against, we're hard to beat. We've probably drawn too many games where we've been in good positions where we feel we should have more points. If we can turn those draws into win we'll be up the table."

Aberdeen have recovered from a dismal run of form that saw them lose four out of five league games, drawing the other. But with seven points from their last three matches Hartley feels Derek McInnes' side have turned things around.

He said: "Their results have been good in the last couple of games. They went through a patch that every team goes through but they're a quality team and they've got exciting players and it makes for a cracking game.

"They've got other good attacking options, Jonny Hayes, Niall McGinn, Kenny McLean, so we need to keep an eye on them but I think we'll cause them problems with our attacking threat.

"I think any team that we face or come up against know we'll give them a game. We've got good quality players and a blend of youth and experience. We've got a forward line that can score goals as well."

Victory would lift second-placed Aberdeen back to within four points of Celtic, for a few hours at least, while a win for the home side would take them into the top half of the table.

Watch Dundee v Aberdeen Live on Sky Sports 1 from 12pm on Saturday.