Tuesday 27 September 2016 08:23, UK
Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho has warned his Manchester City side to beware a Celtic backlash ahead of their UEFA Champions League match in Glasgow on Wednesday.
City head north of the border on the back of 10 straight wins under Pep Guardiola and are widely expected to heap more continental woe on Brendan Rodgers' men after their 7-0 mauling by Barcelona earlier this month.
But, according to Fernandinho, City - who by contrast started their campaign with a 4-0 breeze against Borussia Monchengladbach - must tread carefully to avoid embarrassment of their own.
He said: "Of course they (Celtic) had a painful defeat for themselves and their fans, but maybe that's one of the reasons they will step on the pitch with a lot more concentration, motivated to win this game.
"So we will have to be very careful and stay very focused to not allow that to happen."
City and Barcelona have inevitably been installed as strong favourites to progress from Group C but Fernandinho believes the outcome of the four-team league is far from certain.
He added: "I think sometimes people say that City and Barcelona are the favourites, but I don't agree because Borussia are an excellent team and Celtic are an excellent team as well, especially when they play at home.
"The Champions League is always special, you always have to be careful, you always have to think that you cannot make mistakes - there's no relaxing, otherwise you'll pay for it.
"That's our intention this year, to play 100 per cent concentrated, the way we have been playing, and try to win these games which are really important to us."
Meanwhile midfielder Brahim Diaz has signed his first professional contract with City after making his debut as a substitute in the League Cup win at Swansea.
The 17-year-old joined City from Malaga in 2015 and until his sudden promotion had been playing for their under-18 and Premier League 2 sides.
Diaz told City's official website: "I couldn't be happier signing my first professional contract with City.
"It's a dream for me and a big moment. I want to keep that dream going and hopefully I will get more opportunities to train with the first team."
