Barcelona vs Celtic preview

October 22, 2012
By: Frank Beresford

Many expect high-flying Barcelona to record a comfortable win over Celtic, but given the Bhoys are in great form and have won on their last European travel, we could see a surprisingly tight game at Camp Nou.

If anyone believed the Catalans would struggle under Tito Vilanova, they were quickly proved wrong, with the Camp Nou outfit hitting the ground running early on.

Apart from the two matches against Real Madrid, Barca have won every other game this season, with the impressive run including Champions League wins over Spartak Moscow and Benfica.

The Catalans are now mere 1.09 (1/11) with Stan James to beat Celtic as well, 1.67 (2/3) with Sportingbet to win by at least two goals.

Barcelona haven’t really impressed last time out as they recorded a 5-4 victory over Deportivo La Coruna, although it is important to point out they spent the entire second period with ten men on the pitch.

Tito Vilanova is set to make some changes to the side, with Pedro, Xavi and Adriano likely to return after being rested at the weekend, but Sergio Busquets misses out through suspension and Dani Alves, Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol remain sidelined.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Valdes – Montoya, Mascherano, Adriano, Alba – Xavi, Song, Iniesta – Pedro, Messi, Sanchez.

Celtic did well to reach Champions League group stages by recording double wins over Helsinki and Helsingborg, but the Bhoys looked destined for failure when they were placed in the same group as Barcelona, Benfica and Spartak Moscow.

Despite somewhat struggling for form, Neil Lennon’s side managed to hold Benfica to a goalless draw before producing quite a coup and bringing all three points from Moscow.

Taking into account club’s dismal record on European travels, the 3-2 away win over Spartak was certainly one of their best results in recent future.

The impressive victory in Russia acted as a major confidence boost, with Celtic going on to beat Hearts and St Mirren in SPL, meaning they have reason for optimism before the trip to Camo Nou.

Given that Barcelona are without three starting defenders and leaking goals at the moment, the Bhoys look a good bet to score at Camp Nou, at odds of 2.50 (3/2) offered at Stan James.

The hosts are hoping Scott Brown, James Forrest and Kris Commons will recover in time for the Barca game, while Georgios Samaras, Mikael Lustig and Emilio Izaguirre should return after being rested at the weekend.

Probable starting line-up (4-4-1-1): Forster – Lustig, Wilson, Ambrose, Izaguirre – Brown, Wanyama, Mulgrew, Ledley – Samaras – Hooper.

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