Neestrup on Kilmarnock: We've watched their games vs Celtic and Rangers
F.C. Copenhagen head coach Jacob Neestrup says Kilmarnock will provide a tough test for his players in Parken on Thursday, when the two sides clash in the UEFA Conference League playoff.
The first leg kicks off at 6pm tonight, with Kilmarnock arriving in Denmark having beaten Tromsø in the previous qualifying round.
FCK are unbeaten this season but Neestrup is aware that today's Scottish opponents have impressed against both Celtic and Rangers recently.
"We have prepared for Kilmarnock by, among other things, watching all their recent matches and some selected matches. We have looked a lot at the games where they have played against teams like Celtic and Rangers – in fact, especially the Celtic matches."
Kilmarnock lost 4-0 to Celtic earlier this month but beat them twice last season and earned a 1-1 draw at Rugby Park.
"If we watch them against other Scottish teams, we don't get a completely fair picture of what awaits us," says Neestrup. "But of course we also looked at their two Tromsø games, because Kilmarnock are a team that aren't very typical to the type we usually encounter.
"They defend and press man-to-man over virtually the entire pitch, and that requires a slightly different plan for our positions and means we can play with more dynamism.
"Therefore, we have to be good at opening up space for each other, and we have to be good at playing what is called the 'third man game'. Like, for example, our equaliser against Viborg, where you're constantly thinking who is the third player, who can get the ball in the attack, not just the next one."
FCK head into Thursday's game having drawn 1-1 with Viborg at the weekend. Last week, the Lions battled through a two-legged qualifier with Banik Ostrava on penalties to reach this playoff round.
"We know we haven't performed as well as we really want to in the last two games, but to be able to go out and play a good game of football, no matter how good or bad you've been before, you have to try to find a smile on your face, and fortunately the boys and I are good at that," adds Neestrup.
"The atmosphere at a club like F.C. Copenhagen always depends on whether you win all your football matches or don't perform as well as we all hope. You can feel that.
"But it's not the first time we've been in that situation, and it's not the first time we've had to work our way out of it, and we're trying to do that to the best of our ability now.
"Even though there is not much time between games, we can evaluate both collectively and individually some of the things that we obviously could have done better. We have watched a lot of footage on some of the situations where we were too static in our offensive game and where we lacked dynamism.
"But we have also shown the good phases, for example the goal on Sunday with the 'third man play' and combination play, which we are usually very good at."
FCK vs Kilmarnock kicks off at 6pm tonight. Subscribers with an FCK+ account can watch the game live on the FCK App.