Neil Lennon’s Celtic have been struggling for form as of late.
AIK hitman Tarik Elyounoussi has claimed that he and his team-mates are undaunted over the prospect of facing Celtic this week, remarking that the Hoops in Europe are ‘not so good’.
Salvation is the order of the day for Neil Lennon’s side on Thursday as the Scots host their Swedish counterparts in the first leg of a Europa League playoff.
It’ll be Celtic’s first European encounter since the demoralising defeat by Cluj which saw them dumped out of Champions League qualifying last week.
The Bhoys also failed to reach Europe’s elite competition last season, and were battered by the likes of Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain in their two previous stints in the tournament under Brendan Rodgers.
And Elyounoussi, who has 12 goals under his belt for the Swedes this season, says that AIK won’t be ‘dazzled’ by Celtic over the course of this tie.
He told The Record: “Of course Celtic have a lot of experience in Europe, but they have not been so good in recent years. We will not be dazzled by Celtic.
“When you hear the name Celtic, you think they are a big team. But they lost four goals at home to Cluj and the Scottish league is not so good.”
Celtic had a bit of a European hangover on Saturday, needing extra time to get past Dunfermline in a 2-1 League Cup win.
And if Lennon’s side are similarly sluggish against AIK, they could give themselves a big mountain to climb ahead of visiting Sweden next week.
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