Mancini is wary of being caught cold in cauldron
THE highest scorers in the Europa League descend upon Celtic Park tonight hoping to dismantle a team whose defensive fragility has been laid bare in recent weeks.
But a cautious Roberto Mancini last night warned his ruthless Zenit St Petersburg team not to be caught cold by the Scottish champions or wilt in the intense heat of ‘incredible’ Parkhead.
The big-spending Russians hit an impressive 17 goals in topping Group L ahead of Spain’s Real Sociedad, Rosenborg of Norway and FK Vardar of Macedonia.
However, having just emerged from competitive cold storage after a two-month winter shutdown, Mancini is wary of an upset in Glasgow this evening.
‘Celtic at home are a very tough team. It is always a difficult game in Glasgow,’ warned the former Manchester City boss.
‘The fans at Celtic Park always push their team. It is incredible. So, we could have a problem here as this is our first game after a two-month break. We need to be at our best to reach the next round.’
Mancini could yet be able to call upon Serbian defender Branislav Ivanovic tonight.
A Europa League winner with Chelsea in 2013, the 33-year-old missed Zenit’s final friendly against Maribor during last week’s warm weather camp in Turkey.
Ivanovic is awaiting the allclear from an eye injury but trained with the rest of the squad on the Celtic Park pitch last night.
‘Ivanovic has a problem with his eye,’ said Mancini (right). ‘He is getting better but he is not 100 per cent yet. With his experience, he is important to us. Maybe he can play or go on the bench. We will decide on Thursday.’
Mancini is aware that Brendan Rodgers’ side slumped to heavy defeats in the Champions League this season against Paris SaintGermain and Bayern Munich.
But, citing a 3-3 draw at the same stage here three years ago with his Inter Milan side, who won the return 1-0 in Italy, he knows not to underestimate the Scots.
‘Yes, Celtic lost to PSG and Bayern in the Champions League,’ he said. ‘But they were in a very difficult group. Most teams would lose to PSG and Bayern. Celtic will be better in the Europa League.
‘Celtic don’t have many rivals in Scotland? I think this could be a problem. But they are still a good team.
‘Many times, there has been talk about Celtic going to play in the (English) Premier League. But their history is here in Glasgow.
‘I remember that 3-3 game a few years ago but I expect a different game.
‘For us, it is important to be offensive and to try to score in Glasgow.’
Mancini is looking forward to being reunited with his former Manchester City players, Olivier Ntcham, Scott Sinclair and Dedryck Boyata.
Boyata is out injured and won’t feature tonight but Mancini smiled as he recalled the Belgian defender’s performance in a 3-0 home loss to Arsenal in October 2010. ‘Boyata got a red card against Arsenal at home (after five minutes). But he was really young at the time,’ said the Italian. ‘I bought Scott Sinclair from Swansea but he was unlucky (not to play) as our team was really strong. ‘Ntcham was a young player but they were all good players and all good guys.’ After back-to-back third places in the Russian Premier League, Zenit sacked Mircea Lucescu and replaced him with Mancini last summer. An £80million revamp saw him sign midfielder Leandro Paredes from Roma for £20m, Lyon centre-half Emanuel Mammana for £14.4m and Sebastian Driussi for £13.5m from River Plate. If Paredes is the ticking heart of the team, Aleksandr Kokorin is the danger man. The 26-year-old has netted 15 goals in 25 matches and scored the winner for Dynamo Moscow in a Champions League qualifier at Celtic Park in 2009. The home side must beware.