UEFA Champions League: Celtic vs Barcelona Preview

Glasgow, Nov 7: Barcelona could secure a place in the last-16 with a win over Celtic at Celtic Park in Glasgow while Neil Lennon's side will hope to bounce back from the heartbreak in Camp Nou last time out.

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Two weeks back, Celtic deserved to earn a famous point against the Catalan giants. However, a last-gasp goal from left-back Jordi Alba helped Barca maintain their 100 per cent record in the competition.

Celtic's injury worries went from bad to worse as Lennon is expected to name similar side which impressed during the first leg in Spain.

Left-back Emilio Izaguirre is expected to miss out for six weeks with a hamstring injury while James Forrest is ruled out. Gary Hooper and Georgios Samaras are unlikely to feature despite playing in their last domestic outing.

Charlie Mulgrew is expected to fill in at left-back while Kris Commons could get the nod after a fine hat-trick against St Johnstone.

Meanwhile, Barcelona have good news with the return of centre-back Gerard Pique. The Spanish international returns after being sidelined for over a month. Defensive midfielder Sergio Busquets will continue serve is suspension while Adriano is unlikely to feature after suffering injuries during the weekend.

Alexis Sanchez could return to the starting XI after being rested for the clash with Celta while David Villa is also in contention for a starting place.

Trivia:

*The last win over Celtic was Barcelona's 100th victory in the UEFA Champions League, scoring 348 goals from group stage to final.

*Lionel Messi has been the top-scorer in the competition for the fourth consecutive time.

Probable Lineups:

Celtic (4-4-2): Forster-Lustig, Wilson, Ambrose, Mulgrew-Commons, Brown, Wanyama, Ledley-Hooper, Samaras.

Barcelona (4-3-3): Valdes-Alves, Mascherano, Pique, Alba-Song, Iniesta, Xavi-Pedro, Messi, Villa.

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