Europa League: Zenit ready for Celtic challenge, says Roberto Mancini
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Roberto Mancini is confident Zenit's home form will pay dividends against Celtic
Europa League last-32, second leg: Zenit St Petersburg v Celtic |
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Venue: Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg Date: Thursday 22 February Kick-off: 18:00 GMT |
Coverage: Live commentary on BBC Radio Scotland MW & DAB and live text on BBC Sport website |
Zenit Saint Petersburg are confident their home form will prove decisive in their Europa League decider against Celtic, says manager Roberto Mancini.
The Russians aim to overturn a 1-0 first leg deficit when the sides meet at the Krestovsky Stadium on Thursday.
"All the players are ready and we don't change a lot," said Mancini. "For us, it's important to change the result.
"We always play well at home in the Europa League. I'm confident and we need to play a good game."
Callum McGregor scored the only goal of the game last week in the first leg of the last-32 tie at Celtic Park.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers, who will address the media later, said last week's result should see their Russian opponents "come out a little bit" in the return leg.
'We have the same chance as Celtic'
Zenit faced Celtic last week having not played a competitive game since mid-December following their winter break, a factor Mancini believes played a part in the result.
"We didn't play an official game for two months but in the end we played a good game," he said.
"Probably a mistake when we conceded a goal but, overall, we played a good game after two months.
Roberto Mancini expects his Zenit players to focus on the task at hand
"I'm confident tomorrow we can improve.
"When you play the group stage, it's different to when you play two games; it's not the same.
"I'm confident we'll play a good game, concentrate without pressure. This is important."
Mancini admitted he was impressed by Olivier Ntcham and Scott Brown last week, describing the latter as the "heart" of the Celtic team.
"We knew that Celtic is a good team, with good players and a good manager," he explained.
"They'll try to play their game with quality. We have the same chance to go through like Celtic."
Zenit describe Scott Brown as "the heart" of Celtic's team