Graeme Shinnie is the only man in the Aberdeen camp who knows what it takes to beat Celtic under Ronny Deila’s tenure.
The Aberdeen left back was part of the Caley Thistle side that defeated the Hoops twice last season – a 1-0 win in the Scottish Premiership and a memorable 3-2 victory in the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup to deny the Glasgow side a domestic treble.
Aberdeen lost all four meetings against Celtic last term but Shinnie believes his new side can make amends today when the Hoops visit Pittodrie for an eagerly anticipated fixture.
The 24-year-old said: “I think the key thing is to treat it like any other game and not having anything to fear in Inverness.
“We knew we could cause them problems and we did. With the squad we have here we can cause them problems. It’s just a case of being on our game on the day.
“When I was with Inverness it wasn’t a case of fearing them. It was about trying to cause them as many problems as they would cause us.
“If you go in being cautious about losing too many goals then you’ll end up losing them.
“It’s about going into the game with no fear. We’re going in off the back of a good start, so confidence is high. As long as the preparations are right then, hopefully, we can play well.”
Shinnie was linked with a move to Celtic before signing a pre-contract agreement with Aberdeen last January.
The defender said: “My sole focus was on coming to Aberdeen. I knew I was coming to a club that is on the up. I am also from the city and I know a lot about the club.
“Today shows what this game means to the supporters with the sellout crowd. That is what it is all about.”
Today’s match will be Celtic’s first without Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk, who joined Southampton on transfer deadline day. But Shinnie still expects a difficult afternoon against the Hoops, who may give debuts to Croatian defender Jozo Simunovic and Tyler Blackett, who has joined the club on loan from Manchester United.
He added: “You want to play against the best but Virgil has got himself a good move to the Premiership and Celtic have the budget to recruit.
“They have brought in Tyler Blackett from Manchester United, so I don’t think they have been weakened in any way.
“They are a good side but we know we are a good side and we know what we can do.”