CLUJ manager Dan Petrescu has tipped Celtic to go on and win the Europa League ahead of the meeting between the sides in Romania this evening.
Petrescu's team has already faced Celtic three times this season, with a draw, a win and a defeat to their name, knocking the Scottish champions out of the Champions League qualifiers in the process.
Celtic have run away with Group E in the Europa League though, having already secured top spot in the section, and Petrescu has been hugely impressed by what he has seen from Neil Lennon's men.
"In my opinion they can go all the way and win," Petrescu said. "I think Lazio, too - they are good enough to win this competition. They are Champions League teams."
Celtic will rest several key men in the match tonight at the Constantin Radulescu Stadium, but that fact hasn't changed Petrescu's mind over who are the favourites to win the game.
Cluj need just a point to progress, but the former Chelsea star says even that will be a tall order, believing Celtic's third string could cruise the Romanian league.
"I won’t change my opinion or regret what I said," he said. "Celtic can bring the third team to the Romanian Championship and they would still win, so they are still the favourites."
"I know the coach, I know the mentality, they will come here to win.
"It’s a unique moment for the coach and players. We don’t want to regret this later on because we maybe won’t get another chance.
"I’m sceptical another chance will appear soon because Romanian clubs have small budgets."
Cluj captain Mario Camora agreed with his manager that regardless of the personnel that Lennon sends out, his team will have to be at their best to get a result.
"Celtic is Celtic," Camora said. "Whichever player comes they will be good. It was the same with Lazio but we saw on the pitch how difficult it was to play against them.
"It won’t be easy, It’s good we play at home but it will be very difficult and we have to be very concentrated if we want to qualify."
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here