FC Barcelona vs Celtic FC
UEFA Champions League – Group C
Date: Tuesday, 13th September, 2016,
Kick-Off: 19:45 UK,
Venue: Camp Nou, Barcelona.
The skipper, who hobbled out of Saturday's 5-1 victory over Rangers, has travelled with the squad and is set to lead the side out when the Hoops return to Europe's elite club competition for the first time in three seasons.
Assistant manager, Chris Davies, says the Scottish champions are aiming to trouble a Barcelona side who suffered a shock 2-1 home defeat by newly-promoted Alaves on Saturday.
"I've no doubt whatsoever that Barcelona will be respecting the level we're going to bring," Davies told Sky Sports News HQ. "We do take confidence into the game.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers thinks Luis Suarez is the Barcelona player they should fear most in their Champions League opener
"For us it's logical that our home form is going to be decisive in the Champions League - if ever there was a 12th man it's Celtic fans.
"But having said that the level of our play, with the goals we're scoring, how creative we're looking and how organised we're looking, we're confident we can go anywhere and get points. That's what we're taking to the game."
Meanwhile, Luis Enrique expects a response from his Barcelona side after their shock La Liga defeat on Saturday.
Enrique came under fire after making seven changes - including leaving Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez on the bench - as their 100 per cent start to the season was ended in dramatic fashion by Alaves' first league win at Barcelona in a decade.
Barcelona vs Celtic: Head-to-Head Stats
The latest meeting between these two sides was on July 2016 for the International Champions Cup fixture at the Aviva Stadium in Glasgow which was won by Barcelona by a 3-1 margin.
Celtic have tasted defeat in their last three visits to Camp Nou, while drew in the previous two. Out of the 10 competitive fixture played between them, Barcelona have won 6 as against Celtic’s 2, while 2 matches end in draws.
Celtic are yet to win a match after 14 visits to Spain, with their record reading 3 draws and 11 losses.
Barcelona vs Celtic: Prediction
Luis Enrique will be urging his team to put on an improved performance after their shock defeat to the newly promoted Alaves in the weekend. They haven’t lost in any of their previous 16 home matches in the Champions League taking 15 wins during the period.
Celtic maybe dominant in the Scottish league, but they haven’t done well in Europe lately. They are coming here on the back of an 8 match win-less run in UEFA competitions while playing away from home. This have also lost in all three away matches in this season’s qualifiers. And against an opponent of Barcelona’s quality, they are staring at a huge defeat.
Barcelona vs Celtic: Betting Tips
Handicap Barcelona -2 at 8/13 (1.61)
First Half Goals – Over 1.5 at ½ (1.83)
