The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Aberdeen warned to be wary of Brazilian
Dons boss highlights threat posed by Maribor captain
Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes has pinpointed Brazilian attacker Marcos Tavares as Maribor’s dangerman ahead of tonight’s Europa League qualifier at Pittodrie.
The 32-year-old, who has scored 150 goals in 372 appearances for the Slovenian side, netted the crucial away goal as Maribor set up the meeting with the Dons with a 1-1 draw against Levski Sofia in Bulgaria.
Tavares also scored the winner when Maribor won 1-0 at Celtic Park to qualify for the Champions League for the first time two years ago.
McInnes said: “Maribor have a system of play that is very effective, they’re compact and play well on the counterattack.
“They have their captain, Tavares, playing as the link man behind their forward and then the rest join in.
“The thing for me that showed how good a side they are was the game in Sofia.
“They didn’t panic when they went behind, they’d got their 0-0 at home and were confident within themselves of getting the result.
“They kept cool heads, had confidence and assurance about them that they’d score.
“That showed they are a good side and they have great experience of playing in European football.
“They don’t lose many goals and you have to look very closely to find weaknesses in their team.”
Aberdeen have no fresh injury problems but defender Callum Morris will, miss out. The former Dundee United player has recovered from an achilles injury but is short of match fitness.