Celtic cult hero identifies one weak point Slovan Bratislava could exploit in Champions League opener

Celtic have been warned they will face an imposing Slovan Bratislava side in the first Champions League tie under the new-look format on Wednesday night.

The Slovakian champions are the Hoops’ first opponents at Parkhead with Brendan Rodgers' side determined to get off to a positive start in the revamped competition.

And Celtic icon Lubo Moravcik - who experienced a glut of memorably European nights at Parkhead - has provided the lowdown on what fans can expect from the ‘Sky Blues’. He outlined their biggest weapon but concedes they will need to be “flawless” to come away with a good result from their visit to Glasgow’s east end.

He said: “Celtic do not have a lot of tall players and Slovan Bratislava had a lot of good headers in their team. And Slovan need to work out if that is an area that Celtic may be vulnerable. Celtic will be the favourites and Slovan must be flawless to take anything from the game.

“I was lucky enough to see Celtic's cup game against Hibernian live three weeks ago. Hibs had a lot of big players and I thought they would cause Celtic problems, but Celtic were too aggressive in attack for them. Celtic have Daizen Maeda and Kyogo Furuhashi and they are both very fast. A tiny hesitation and they can take advantage of it. Celtic have a lot of very good technical players.

“It will be a great feeling for Slovan's players to run out in such a stadium with 60,000 fans there. They should enjoy it because it is a great experience for every player. Their players must go into the match knowing they have to give their absolute maximum.

“They have to manage it physically and mentally at the same time. After all, the team is made up of experienced footballers and not young boys. Guys like Vladimir Weiss, Robert Mak, Guram Kashia and Juraj Kucka have all played enough football on big stages and are experienced enough to keep their emotions in check.

“But Slovan must prepare for the fact they won't be given a second's moment of peace on the ball. This will be an incredible experience for them. Perhaps they might surprise everyone and steal a point from Celtic....but it will be very, very difficult to do that.”