Celtic come into the midweek game against Hearts having dropped only five points all season and they will look to keep the run going at Parkhead.
Hearts did give Celtic a run for their money earlier in the season at Tynecastle though, where the Hoops had to dig in and get a 4-3 win.
Neilson thinks it is important that his team have belief before the Celtic game and acknowledged that Hearts will have spells without possession, thus making it important to make the most out of it when they do have the ball.
The Hearts boss believes it is difficult to press Celtic higher up the pitch and thus his team will need to make brave decisions as well as close off areas when the Hoops have the ball.
“The big thing for me in these games is belief, both in the team and in yourself”, Neilson said in a press conference ahead of the Celtic game.
“We’re not going to go there and control the whole game, but we have to control periods and when we have possession, we need to make the right decisions.
“The difficult thing is trying to get pressure on them higher up the pitch because technically they have some very good players.
“So, we have to be brave in our positioning and then try and shut off the areas that they try to play in.”
Celtic and Hearts face other again at the weekend, this time in the Scottish Cup, and the Hoops will be hoping they still have their 100 per cent record against the Edinburgh club this season beyond this week.
