Adam Matthews and his Celtic team-mates might never have heard of Shakhter Karagandy but the Kazakh champions will be more than a little familiar to the Parkhead support.
That is the assessment of Stuart Duff, the former Dundee United and Aberdeen defender, who plays in Kazakhstan with FC Kairat.
The 31-year-old, who moved to central Asia last year and has experienced first-hand what awaits Neil Lennon's side in their Champions League playoff round encounter, compares Shakhter to Martin O'Neill's Celtic team.
"It will be a very tricky away leg," said Duff, who insisted any fears over the quality of the synthetic surface at the pristine Astana Arena are unfounded. "They are a very physical side who like to dominate teams. They have two huge guys - both about 6ft 5in - at the heart of their defence who intimidate opposition strikers. Also, up front they were very imposing as well. Come to think of it, they are a bit like a Martin O'Neill side which was built a lot on height and strength.
"Celtic will have to be prepared for a battle because that's what they might end up getting across here. Shakhter do have skilful players but they don't think twice about launching the ball and turning defence into attack. It's a tactic which has worked well for them."
Matthews would do well to listen to Duff's advice but the Welshman's ignorance will not be manifest in complacency. Georgios Samaras and Mikael Lustig have both played in Kazakhstan, for Greece and Sweden respectively, and the full-back has already questioned them about what to expect.
"Ties like this can be dangerous," he said. "I've never heard of them and it's a step into the unknown, but I'm sure we'll be ready for it when it. There were dangerous teams in there and, for all we know, they could also be a really good team. We don't know anything about them, but they'll know all about us. When my career was progressing, I never thought I'd be known in Kazakhstan one day."
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