Monday, 18th August, 2014
Ronny Delia has insisted that Celtic will put up a much better performance against NK Maribor than they did against Legia Warsaw in the previous round of Champions League qualifying.
Celtic were thrashed 6-1 over two legs by Legia Warsaw, but the Polish side were forced to forfeit the second leg after UEFA found that they fielded an ineligible player, leading to the Scottish champions qualifying for the playoff round.
The Scots will take on Slovenian outfit Maribor to decide who will go through to the Champions League group stage.
“Maribor are a good team”, the Norwegian manager told the club’s official site.
Delia knows that beating Maribor over two legs will be tough, but said that his squad have prepared well for the test ahead.
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Celtic are in good form and have scored nine goals and conceded only one in their last two league fixtures, against St. Johnstone and Dundee United respectively.
“They’ve been the champions of Slovenia for the past three years.
“There’s nothing easy in the Champions League so that’s going to be a hard game but we know what we are capable of doing when we’re at our best so we will do everything to prepare for that tie.”
Delia promised the Celtic fans that the Hoops will produce a much better performance against the Slovenian outfit than they did against Legia Warsaw. He also feels that playing at Celtic Park will play a key role towards his team’s performance.
“I know we can play much better than we did in the previous round, while we’re also back at Celtic Park for our home game, and those two things can be good for us.”
The Scottish champions will take on the Slovenian champions in the first leg of their Champions League playoff at the Ljudski Vrt.
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