Braga look to down Celtic

(GSM) – Sporting Braga boss Domingos Paciencia has fired the first salvo ahead of his side’s Champions League tie with Celtic, by stating that Portuguese challengers would turn up the heat on the SPL Side on Wednesday night.

Temperatures have already soared to almost 40 degrees Celsius in the north of Portugal on Tuesday afternoon and although Wednesday’s third qualifying round first leg is an evening kick-off, many of the visiting players will not be used to performing in such conditions.

But Hoops boss Neil Lennon is confident his side’s North American tour allowed them to acclimatise to such heat, but Paciencia wants Braga to make the Glasgow giants sweat by giving them the runaround at the Estadio AXA.

“Tomorrow, we will increase the temperature,” he proclaimed, hinting he knew what was coming from Lennon’s men.

“Celtic don’t change their way of playing, even if they play away or at home, so we expect an open game.”

He added: “They’re a very strong team, physically.

“They’re always looking to find players with the ball and are very aggressive, in a good way.”

Despite having only 11 days to scout Wednesday’s opponents since the draw for the Champions League third qualifying round was made, Paciencia is happy with his homework.

“I’ve seen a lot of Celtic’s matches,” he said.

“They have several good players.”

Reluctant to single out a particular threat, Paciencia was nevertheless wary of Georgios Samaras, who can be anonymous one minute and brilliant the next.

“He’s a very important player in the team,” the Braga boss said.

“He’s important also because he can stretch the team in a different way.”