David Martindale expects extra spice as Shinnie and Yengi brothers meet in Premiership clash between Livingston and Aberdeen

Livingston boss David Martindale expects family rivalry to add an extra edge to the atmosphere when his side takes on Aberdeen this weekend.

The Premiership match could have the rare situation of two sets of brothers facing each other on the pitch as Graeme Shinnie and Kusini Yengi of Aberdeen go up against Livi’s Andrew Shinnie and Tete Yengi.

Martindale is expecting a competitive match at Pittodrie and is amused by the potential for family tension.

“I wonder if that’s happened previously, two sets of brothers playing against each other,” the Livingston manager said. “It just adds a wee bit of spice to the game, and probably adds a wee bit of banter with the Yengis and the Shinnies.

“Especially Shinnie’s mum and dad, I think they try and get to a lot of the games, and sometimes it’s (a choice between) Andrew or Graeme, so they’ve not got a decision to make this week, they’re going to go along to the game.

“Tete’s a little bit different because his parents are in Australia, but yeah, it brings a different dynamic and probably a bit of banter through the households.”

While attention is on the line-ups for the family clashes, there is also excitement amongst Livingston fans to see new loan signings Junior Robinson and Mahamadou Susoho after their deadline day moves.

West Ham defender Robinson and Manchester City midfielder Susoho are both fit and available and Martindale says the international break has allowed them to settle in with plenty of time before competitive action.

“It was good to get them in last week because it gave us a wee bit of a free hit with them not having a game on Saturday, so we managed to get some training and coaching time into them, and they’ve been getting to know the group.”