Celtic midfielder Eboue Kouassi has warned the Bhoys that Zenit St Petersburg will be of a good standard and provide a battle on the technical, physical and mental fronts.
Kouassi is well aware of Zenit's strength and the standard of football in the Russian Premier Liga, having turned out for Krasnodar before joining Celtic in January 2017.
The Bhoys will host Zenit in the first leg of their Europa League Round of 32 tie on Thursday night and Kouassi expects a real test for the Scottish champions.
"Having played in Russia, I know it’s a very good standard", he told Celtic View.
"The teams are physical, strong mentally and well-organised", Kouassi continued.
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"It’s a good league and you can see that in the amount of teams from there who are playing in the Champions League and the Europa League.
"It will be a technical, physical and mental battle."
Kouassi has not featured in continental competition for Celtic and it remains to be seen whether boss Brendan Rodgers will give him the vote to play, taking into account his experience of playing against Russian teams.
The midfielder's former club Krasnodar sit just one point behind Zenit in the Russian top flight standings.
