Celtic face Zenit on Thursday but former Rangers man Andrei Kanchelskis believes they will not able to surprise their opponents.
Former Rangers winger Andrei Kanchelskis has told the Daily Record that he believes Old Firm rivals Celtic play “simple football” and will be unable to spring a surprise on Thursday night.
The Hoops take on Russian giants Zenit St. Petersburg in Russia after narrowly beating Roberto Mancini’s men 1-0 last week at Paradise thanks to a late Callum McGregor goal.
Brendan Rodgers has rested a number of his senior stars ahead of the second leg as the Hoops look to progress into the round of 16, which ultimately saw Celtic fail to beat St. Johnstone at home on Sunday afternoon.
Kanchelskis, who played for Rangers for four years between 1998 and 2002, reckons Celtic only have one dimension when it comes to a certain style. He believes Zenit will not be surprised by the way the Hoops approach the game.
“Celtic are in the middle of their season and we saw that. Zenit had a two month break. That much was very obvious in the first leg,” Kanchelskis said.
“For the second leg, Celtic will play the same way they did in the first – they can only play simple football. That means nothing they can do will be a surprise to Zenit. I don’t think they will go defensive either.”
The Hoops are likely to remain without a number of key stars for the clash including the likes of Craig Gordon, Dedryck Boyata, Marvin Compper, Leigh Griffiths, Paddy Roberts and Jonny Hayes.
It remains to be seen if Kanchelskis is right and Celtic look to attack Zenit, rather than attempting to protect their narrow lead in the realms of Russia.
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