Celtic manager Neil Lennon has been utilising the knowledge of old pal Stiliyan Petrov over the last week as the Bhoys prepare to host Ferencvaros in the Champions League, The Daily Record reports.
The Scottish champions will face off against the Hungarian champions for a place in the third qualifying round of the continental tournament, behind closed doors at Celtic Park.
It’s undoubtedly a difficult test for Lennon’s Bhoys and it is a ramp in quality of opponent compared to recent matches against KR Reykjavik and Dundee United.
With the added danger a one-legged tie brings, nothing can be taken for granted on Wednesday night.
As you’d expect, Celtic have been preparing thoroughly and Lennon has been getting a few details from Petrov.
As quoted by The Daily Record, he explained: “I was speaking to Stiliyan about it and he was giving me a few wee tidbits on players and how they will play.
“I know it is a tricky tie against Ferencvaros who were excellent against Djurdgardens. I watched snippets of it, but we will watch it more in depth.
“They are a good side and I was speaking to Stiliyan about them last week. They are quite a strong team, particularly away from home.
“They are difficult to break down and good on the counter-attack. We are under no illusions that it will be a tricky tie, a very tricky tie.”
Ferencvaros performed well in the Europa League group stages last season, losing just one of their six matches and earning themselves seven points in the process.
It wasn’t enough to see them qualify for the knockout rounds but enough proof that they are hard to beat at this level.
With dangermen such as Tokmac Nguen in the team, who scored both their goals in the last qualifying round against Djurgarden, Celtic will have to be on top form defensively as well as in attack.
In my opinion, a nervy night awaits us.
We can only hope that the team are ready to take the game the visitors and get themselves an early goal.
In other news, Celtic are in the hunt to sign an Ajax winger this summer.
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