Football United

Celtic FC manager Martin O'Neill believes visitors FC Barcelona are favourites to win their UEFA Champions League Group F opener.

Barcelona signings
O'Neill's side knocked Barcelona out of last season's UEFA Cup, winning the first leg here 1-0 before a goalless draw in the return settled the fourth-round tie. However, since then the Catalan side have signed Samuel Eto'o, Deco and Ludovic Giuly, along with the man whose goalscoring over the last few seasons helped Celtic establish a new-found domestic supremacy in Scotland, Henrik Larsson.

Fine record
So, even though Celtic are unbeaten at home in 19 European matches and have kept clean sheets in the two previous visits of Barcelona, O'Neill admits Frank Rijkaard's side could well have the edge. "They should win the game given the quality they have added to their squad," said O'Neill.

'Hard task'
"But there are loads of matches going on every single day around the world where teams should win games. Do I think we can win it? Absolutely - there's no reason why we cannot win the game. It's a hard task for us but not an insurmountable one."

Sutton returns
The Scottish champions have been boosted by the news that Chris Sutton returned to training on Monday and he has declared himself fit after missing three games with a hamstring injury and could replace Henri Camara as John Hartson's strike partner, although the Senegalese forward did score twice in Saturday's 3-0 win against Dundee FC. Didier Agathe and Stanislav Varga have also recovered from injury while Bobo Balde should play in defence despite a niggling back problem.

Larsson return
Unsurprisingly, the return of Larsson, who scored 242 goals in his seven-year Celtic spell, has been the main topic of conversation in Glasgow. Former team-mate Neil Lennon said: "I think he will get a tremendous welcome from the crowd, but I would not like to be in Henrik's shoes. It has come so quick off the back of him leaving Celtic. He was here for seven years and it's only a couple of months since he left the club, so it's bound to be an emotional night for him."

First goal
Larsson was mobbed by Celtic fans and waiting media when he arrived at Glasgow Airport with the rest of the Barcelona squad and the striker promptly declared himself fit after picking up a slight injury in Saturday's 2-0 win against Sevilla FC, a game in which he scored his first competitive goal for his new club.

Coach tight-lipped
Rijkaard refused to say whether Larsson would start against his former team-mates, but confirmed that Ronaldinho would play if he was 100 per cent fit after missing out against Sevilla. "I have made up my mind but I am not telling you," the coach responded when asked about Larsson. "He is a fantastic player. People love him here at Celtic because he was a great professional and a great person in the dressing room."

Deco urges patience
Another Barcelona new boy, Deco, won this competition with FC Porto last season - a campaign that began with what seemed a disappointing 1-1 draw at FK Partizan. He said: "It is very important to start well but we do not feel that all three points are necessary. One point will be good enough, but we have to be patient and not allow the opposition to provoke us into doing anything stupid."

Brazilians missing
Barcelona are without Brazilian midfield player Thiago Motta who ruptured his knee ligaments at the weekend, along with compatriot Edmílson, who is serving a one-match European suspension.

Source: uefa.com