NK Maribor midfielder Marwan Khaba revealed Celtic’s Nir Bitton has given him the inside track on Derek McInnes’ Aberdeen.
The 25-year-old knows the Hoops player from their time playing together for the Israeli under-21 national team.
And Khaba says Bitton has warned him to expect a difficult 90 minutes at Pittodrie in this evening’s Europa League third qualifying round first leg tie, which is expected to be watched by 18,000 supporters.
He said: “I think the standard of Scottish football is very good.
“I have spoken to my friend Nir Bitton so I know a little bit about the game here. It will be hard for both teams.
“Nir has told me about the players here, how they play and who the best players are.
“We know they have a good team with a lot of fast players as well as tall players. We have prepared for this but we have also come to play our own game.
“We know a lot about them and we are ready.”
Maribor have enjoyed plenty of success against Scottish teams in recent years, having knocked Celtic, Rangers and Hibernian out of European competition since 2010.
While Khaba has been told to expect a tough match, he also anticipates that the Dons will deploy some direct tactics this evening but feels confident his side will be strong enough to progress to the final play-off round.
He said: “We know they play a lot of long balls. It will be a hard game for both teams. The coach has prepared us well for the match so we have come here ready.
“We have come here to win and progress to the next round. We have targeted getting to the group stages and I think we will do the job.
“We have played against Celtic and Rangers in Europe in the past but this is a different match against a different team.
“We have come here with a lot of confidence, energy and motivation to win.
“Our goal is to win.”