AFP/Glasgow
Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths has warned his team-mates to be ready for a battle when they take on Hearts at Tynecastle in the Scottish Cup fourth round today.
The Scotland forward is acutely aware of the intense atmosphere awaiting the Hoops in Edinburgh, having turned out for fierce rivals Hibernian for two seasons.
The Hoops have already knocked the Jambos out of the League Cup this season with a 3-0 victory at Celtic Park back in September.
However, Robbie Neilson’s side are unbeaten since then and have established a nine-point lead over Rangers at the top of the Championship table.
And Griffiths knows Celtic, who top the Premiership, will face a tough task if they are to progress and book their place in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup.
“Tynecastle is an intimidating ground and the place will be rocking,” said the Edinburgh-born striker. “Hearts will make it very difficult for us and they’ve done the exact same when they played at Celtic Park and brought a strong crowd through.
“But we’ll be going through on Sunday to book our place in the next round of the cup.
“Hearts have opened up a big lead in the league over Rangers. I watched their game last Saturday afternoon and they bossed the game, and they’ll be looking to do that to us.
“It’s the kind of game you want to play in - a full stadium, lots of noise, lots of tackles flying in, lots of passion but we’ll be looking to get to the next round of the cup after the game.”
While Hearts are now operating in the second tier, a repeat of the 7-0 win for Celtic when the sides met at Tynecastle at the same stage last season seems highly unlikely.
“It has been decent of late for us against Hearts. When I first went there I lost my first two games, so that wasn’t good, but I’ve scored on my last two appearances there and hopefully I can do it again,” Griffiths added. Rangers target Killie scalp
Old Firm rivals Rangers are also in action today as they take on Kilmarnock at Ibrox.
The fallen Glasgow giants, currently second in Scottish football’s second tier, have defeated two Premiership sides on their journey to the League Cup semi-finals this season and winger Fraser Aird is keen to make it three when Killie, who are seventh in the top flight, come calling.
“Obviously we are still in contention for four trophies this year and at Rangers it’s always been about winning trophies, so hopefully we can go on another good Cup run,” the Canadian said.
“We’re looking forward to the game on Sunday and all the boys are too, so hopefully we can go and put on a good performance.
“There’s always pressure on us to play. There’s always pressure on us to go out there and win games. It’s another Premiership club for us to face at the weekend. We’ve played two of them already this season and beat them so hopefully we can go out and make it three.”
The remaining 10 Premiership sides all face each other on Saturday, with holders St Johnstone at home to Ross County and last season’s beaten finalists Dundee United away at Motherwell.
