Stones talks up Celtic quality

Manchester City defender John Stones told his team they needed to respect Celtic’s quality ahead of their Champions League clash.

Pep Guardiola’s side are flying high in the Premier League ahead of the meeting in Glasgow on Wednesday.

City are expected to continue their fine form, particularly against a Celtic side who opened their Group C campaign with a 7-0 loss to Barcelona.

Stones, however, warned City they needed to perform against Brendan Rodgers’ outfit.

“You have to show respect to the opposition. They’ve obviously got quality, that’s why they’re in the Champions League,” he said, via ESPN.

“The teams that are in it, deserve to be in it and we’ve worked hard to get in it.

“It’s one that we’ll be fully up for and I’m sure they will be as well. It’s going to be exciting for everyone.”

City are on a 10-match winning run to start the season, and they sit four points clear atop the Premier League.

Midfielder Fernandinho is wary of a response from Celtic to their heavy loss at Camp Nou.

“I don’t agree with us being favourites. It’s going to be a difficult game,” the Brazilian said.

“Of course, they had a painful defeat for themselves and the fans, but maybe that’s one of the reasons they will step onto the pitch with a lot more concentration, motivated to try to win this home game.

“So we’ll have to be very careful and stay very focused to not allow that to happen.”