Celtic full-back Mikael Lustig knows his side will face a tough test when they travel to Kazakhstan to take on Astana in the first leg of their Champions League qualifying tie on Wednesday.
The Hoops booked their place in the third qualifying round with a 3-1 aggregate success over Gibraltan minnows Lincoln Red Imps and their reward for that triumph is a tie against the reigning Kazakhstani Premier League champions.
Celtic endured a tough encounter the last time they travelled to Kazakhstan, losing 2-0 to Shakhter Karagandy in 2013, before eventually prevailing 3-2 on aggregate thanks to a 3-0 home success.
Sweden international Lustig played in both of those matches three years ago, and he is expecting a similarly tough test when they take on Astana.
He told reporters: “We know this will be a difficult game. We played there not so long ago and lost 2-0 to Shakhtar Karagandy.”
The 29-year-old knows his side will be especially tested during the away leg of their tie at the Astana Arena, and he wants his team to produce the same level of performance they managed during the opening 30 minutes of their second-leg clash with the Red Imps.
He added: “So, we realise it will a difficult pitch and we will need to play as we did in the first half-hour against Red Imps.”
Brendan Rodgers’ team will prepare for their trip to Kazakhstan with a high-profile friendly clash against Premier League champions Leicester in the International Champions Cup at Celtic Park on Saturday.
Leave a comment
Link Dafabet