Pitch inspection for Aberdeen v Celtic & Dundee v Motherwell postponed

Aberdeen will inspect the pitch at Pittodrie at 16:00 GMT to assess whether their Scottish Premiership match against Celtic can go ahead; Dundee’s match against Motherwell was postponed.

Following heavy rainfall overnight in Angus, Dundee held a precautionary review with the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and the decision was made to postpone the match “due to unprecedented rainfall”.

“The decision on the line was made by the match referee and details of the rearranged fixture will be announced as soon as possible,” Dundee said in a statement.

The area around the goal at the Merkland end of Pittodrie is of particular concern ahead of Aberdeen’s game against the reigning champions as they look to close the gap on leaders Heart of Midlothian to three points.

The match is scheduled to start at 20:00 and the weather forecast calls for more heavy rain between that time and 22:00.

Aberdeen’s statement said: “Continuous rain over the last few weeks has made the pitch heavy. Groundsmen have been working tirelessly to prepare the game but there is an area on the surface that is causing concern.”

Dundee had trouble at their Dens Park ground two seasons ago, admitting five breaches of SPFL rules following a series of postponements due to waterlogging.

Dundee is third in the Premier League and Motherwell is fourth.