CRUSADERS captain Colin Coates has warned their Champions League qualifier opponents Levadia Tallinn to expect a physical battle tonight.
The Estonian champions arrive at Seaview for a first-round tie as current leaders of their home Premium Liiga, which is approaching the halfway mark in its season.
By contrast the Irish League club have had just one friendly for their preparations but Coates believes they can make their mark, particularly at set-pieces.
"Our game tends to be slightly more physical than some of the European sides are used to and set-pieces can be a major weapon for us," Coates told BBC Sport.
"The likes of Jordan Owens and myself can be a handful there and we will be setting up to try and do that again.
"They are league champions and are doing well again this year, plus they are in the middle of their season, so we face a difficult task.
"They have a relatively good pedigree in Europe and from what I've seen on video, they look like a good outfit, but we feel we can give anyone a game at Seaview.
"Fitness is obviously a concern as we have only had a week's training and one friendly under our belts but we will hopefully get through on adrenaline."
Levadia have lost just one league game in 16 games this season and have good domestic pedigree. Since their inception in 1998, they’ve won nine league titles and seven Estonia cups and reached the first round the Uefa Cup in 2006.
Crues boss Stephen Baxter will miss tonight’s Champions League opener due to a pre-arranged family holiday. Number two and former Crusaders favourite Jeff Spiers will take charge of the side.
Baxter managed to secure the signing of Linfield midfielder Michael Carvill this summer which significantly boosts the side’s midfield options for the new season.
Carvill hit the winner in last Saturday’s pre-season friendly win over Airbus UK at Seaview Diarmaid O’Carroll and last season’s player of the year Paul Heatley were on target for the Crues in their 3-2 win.
Meanwhile, Shamrock Rovers travel to Luxembourg's FC Progres Niederkorn in the Europa League first qualifying round clash.
Former Newcastle youth player Brandon Miele admits it is a trip into the unknown but is optimistic about their chances.
"It will be a good trip to Luxembourg. To be honest I don't know much about the team we're playing but hopefully we can go there and get a win," he told the Irish Independent.
"I think we have good back room staff and they'll do what they can to find out what they can about the team. I think we'll approach it like any other game and go and get a win.
"Hopefully we'll be fitter. We're mid-season so I think that's probably going to be an advantage to us. But we can't underestimate them."
The Dubliners, who are in fourth place in the Airtricity League, warmed up for their first European game with a fine 2-1 win over Galway United last Friday night.
