Celtic captain Callum McGregor insists Aberdeen “deserve” to be where they are this season.
The midfielder, 31, says his side will be treating Saturday’s Premier Sports Cup semi-final with the “utmost respect”, with the Dons level on points with the Scottish Premiership leaders after 10 games.
They drew 2-2 when they met in the league earlier this season and McGregor expects a tough test at Hampden.
“When you watch them, they’re really well organised, they’ve got a really good idea of what they’re trying to do and then what the wins do is they just gather belief and as soon as that happens then momentum can be such a big thing in football,” said McGregor.
“They’ve obviously done a lot of good work over the summer and they’ve carried that into the games and you speak about that snowball effect.
“They are where they are and they deserve to be there. So we have to treat everyone with the utmost respect and bring our level to the game.
“I’ve been really impressed by them and it will be another tough game.”