Andreas Hinkel has warned Celtic that Villarreal are every bit as strong as La Liga giants Barcelona and Real Madrid.

The Hoops travel to El Madrigal in less than a fortnight to take on the Spanish runners-up desperately needing a point.

And Hinkel, who is familiar with Villarreal from his Seville days, believes Celtic have their work cut out.

"It is going to be very difficult to win against Villarreal in Spain," said the defender. "I know Celtic got one point in Barcelona a few years ago and maybe that is a good omen for us.

"Maybe Spain is a good country at the moment for the team if you look at that history.

"But Villarreal are a good side with excellent players. Of course they are not Real Madrid or Barca in that they don't have the name.

"But the players are very good, the team is strong and they work hard together.

"They finished second last year, so ten points ahead of Barca, so that is a sign they are as good as even the biggest clubs in Spain.

"But I think we probably need to take something from the game against them."

And Hinkel knows that Celtic's European away form makes for grim reading. The Hoops have taken just one point from a possible 45 on the road and, psychologically, it appears to have become a serious issue.

It is something they have to get rid of if their dreams of qualifying for the last 16 are not extinguished before the group has even started.

"It's easier to qualify the earlier you gain the points so you don't have the pressure in the last game or two," said Hinkel.

"We need to improve - we need to score. If we do that we will win games in Europe. Away games are different and we need to have a different approach than we did against Aalborg."