Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes has backed his attack-minded Dons to break down a defensive Daugava Riga this evening.
The Latvians are expected to pack their defence in a 5-2-3 formation in tonight’s Europa League first round qualifier at Pittodrie.
However the Dons manager reckons his side possesses enough quality to break down Daugava to give themselves an advantage to take over to Riga for next week’s second leg.
He said: “They defend deep and in numbers. They are possession-based and, despite their form, they have dominated possession, even in their 5-1 defeat against Skonto Riga last week.
“They are comfortable in possession and they normally play with a back five and that makes them sit that bit deeper. It will be up to us to try and break them down.
“We also know they have players, one or two in particular, who can also hurt us going the other way.
“We have to make sure that it is not all about attack, attack, attack.
“We have to be mindful and concentrate at all times.
“They are a team, who although they started in poor form, have picked up with six wins from their last 11 games and they come into the match on the back of a good away victory.
“They have players with good experience and know-how but at the same time I enjoy watching my team.
“I would back my team against most to go and cause teams problems and that is what we will be trying to do.”
The Dons are strong favourites to win tonight’s match but McInnes has warned his side that there will be no room for complacency against the little-known Latvians.
He added: “Teams who are in European competition are there because they have had a good campaign the previous season.
“We are not naive enough to think that we just need to turn up.
“We will need to put in a performance like we do most weeks otherwise we won’t get the result we want. Although we can talk to the players about the opposition, certain players and their style of play, ultimately it will be our own efforts that decide whether or not we get through or not.
“We are not expecting it easy.
“We will give them every respect and we know we will have to come up with the answers home and away to get into the next round.”