Celtic vs Barcelona - Team News, Match Preview & Likely Line-Ups
Date: Tuesday, October 1 Venue: Celtic Park Kick-Off: 19:45 Celtic will be buoyed by the absence of Lionel Messi from the Barcelona team sheet tonight as the two sides clash in the Champions League Group Stages for a second season running.
Team News
Celtic could be without Derk Boerrigter for Tuesday night's visit of Barcelona to Parkhead. The winger suffered a knock against Morton last week and is still struggling with the ankle injury he picked up against Ross County last month. Midfielder Joe Ledley remains sidelined with a groin injury but James Forrest is back in contention having overcome a virus. Barcelona will be without Lionel Messi for their visit to the Scottish champions. The Argentinian was forced off before half time during Saturday's win against AlmerÃa and scans showed he is set to be out of action for up to three weeks. The Spanish champions also have a series of defensive injuries, with Javier Mascherano, Jordi Alba and Carlos Puyol all out. (Sky Sports)Key Stats
Celtic only had 1 shot on target against Milan on the first matchday, the lowest tally alongside Viktoria Plzen. This is the second-successive season these two sides have been paired together in the group stages of the Champions League. Barcelona completed 1,501 more passes than Celtic over their two Champions League encounters last season. Barcelona have failed to score in four of their last eight Champions League games.Likely Line-Ups
Celtic Forster, Matthews, Ambrose, van Dijk, Izaguirre, Forrest, Brown, Mulgrew, Samaras, Pukki, Stokes Barcelona Valdes, Alves, Pique, Bartra, Adriano, Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta, Neymar, Pedro, Alexis Now click "Next" for our Match Preview.Match Preview
When Group H of the Champions League was drawn, Celtic manager Neil Lennon must have thought it was a wind up. AC Milan, Ajax and Barcelona were all paired alongside the Scottish champions, making their chances of qualification slim to nil. The Bhoys were unlucky against Milan a fortnight ago to concede those two late goals and face another stern test as they play host to the Spanish champions tonight. Barcelona are without several key players, more notably Lionel Messi, but when you breath a sigh of relief over his omission, you then remember the Nou Camp giants still have Neymar to call upon. There's strength in depth running all the way through this Barca side, and that's but one of the reasons why they've been one of the undisputed best club sides in Europe over the past decade. They're like Medusa - when you cut off one head, another one grows back again. But Celtic can take heart from the fact they actually have a pretty good record against tonight's opponents - historically speaking. The two sides have met regularly over the last ten years, clashing 10 times - of which Barcelona have won just four. Last season again saw the two do battle in the group stages, both winning their home games, Tony Watt famously striking the winner for Celtic at Parkhead in that memorable triumph. And Lennon and co. will need more than a little bit of stardust tonight if they are to repeat that feat.