Post by Taxigirl on Mar 11, 2004 9:23:56 GMT
news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/europe/3497300.stm
Celtic striker Chris Sutton will miss Thursday's Uefa Cup fourth-round, first-leg match against Barcelona.
The Englishman's ankle injury, which he hurt against Teplice in the last round, has failed to respond to treatment.
Martin O'Neill is also sweating over the fitness of defenders Joos Valgaeren and Bobo Balde after they missed training on Wednesday.
"It's a massive blow and we will miss him going into a game like this," said manager O'Neill.
Barcelona will be without former Arsenal and Rangers midfielder Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who has been playing left-back for Barca and will miss both legs of the tie with strained knee ligaments.
But Mexican defender Rafael Marquez is fit to return to the team, along with Spanish international midfielder Gerard Lopez.
Argentine striker Javier Saviola is back in the squad after missing the weekend victory over Readl Mallorca through suspension.
Midfielder Edgar Davids is cup-tied, Dutch international colleague Patrick Kluivert is still out injured, while Spanish forward Luis Enrique is banned.
Celtic will rely heavily on Swedish striker Henrik Larsson, the club's only recognised striker for the visit of the Spanish side.
Fellow strikers John Hartson and Shaun Maloney are already out for the rest of the season and Sutton's absence is another unwanted problem for O'Neill.
O'Neill said: "It's going to be a big ask for us.
"It would have been a big ask even with the likes of Chris Sutton and John Hartson available.
"We are a wee bit stretched at this minute, but I'm looking forward to the game.
"We're all disappointed and none more so than Chris himself, but he'll have the problem looked at by experts on Friday, so we'll maybe have some more news then."
Valgaeren and Balde did not train on Wednesday due to injury, but O'Neill is optimistic Balde will be fit to face the Catalan giants.
Barcelona have turned their season around - with the help of Ronaldinho and Davids - with recent victories over Valencia, Deportivo and Real Mallorca.
But Celtic have not been beaten on their own ground since Ajax won in August 2001 - a statistic that has not gone unnoticed by their opponents.
Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard, whose side are 11 points adrift of Real Madrid in fourth spot in the Spanish championship race, said: "We're not favourites.
"I think it's always hard to play every team in Europe.
"Of course, I am confident - but that doesn't mean that we can relax by any means.
"We are expecting a really hard match. Celtic have a great record here, and we have to wary of that.
"A win has got to be our objective and that is important for the rest of our season."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Celtic squad: Douglas, Kennedy, Balde, Varga, Valgaeren, McNamara, Agathe, Lennon, Petrov, Pearson, Thompson, Larsson, Beattie, Sylla, Marshall, Lambert, Wallace, Smith, Wallace.
Uefa Cup fourth round first leg
Kick-off 2000 GMT
Live coverage on BBC One Scotland, Radio Five Live and the BBC Sport website
Celtic striker Chris Sutton will miss Thursday's Uefa Cup fourth-round, first-leg match against Barcelona.
The Englishman's ankle injury, which he hurt against Teplice in the last round, has failed to respond to treatment.
Martin O'Neill is also sweating over the fitness of defenders Joos Valgaeren and Bobo Balde after they missed training on Wednesday.
"It's a massive blow and we will miss him going into a game like this," said manager O'Neill.
Barcelona will be without former Arsenal and Rangers midfielder Giovanni van Bronckhorst, who has been playing left-back for Barca and will miss both legs of the tie with strained knee ligaments.
But Mexican defender Rafael Marquez is fit to return to the team, along with Spanish international midfielder Gerard Lopez.
Argentine striker Javier Saviola is back in the squad after missing the weekend victory over Readl Mallorca through suspension.
Midfielder Edgar Davids is cup-tied, Dutch international colleague Patrick Kluivert is still out injured, while Spanish forward Luis Enrique is banned.
Celtic will rely heavily on Swedish striker Henrik Larsson, the club's only recognised striker for the visit of the Spanish side.
Fellow strikers John Hartson and Shaun Maloney are already out for the rest of the season and Sutton's absence is another unwanted problem for O'Neill.
O'Neill said: "It's going to be a big ask for us.
"It would have been a big ask even with the likes of Chris Sutton and John Hartson available.
"We are a wee bit stretched at this minute, but I'm looking forward to the game.
"We're all disappointed and none more so than Chris himself, but he'll have the problem looked at by experts on Friday, so we'll maybe have some more news then."
Valgaeren and Balde did not train on Wednesday due to injury, but O'Neill is optimistic Balde will be fit to face the Catalan giants.
Barcelona have turned their season around - with the help of Ronaldinho and Davids - with recent victories over Valencia, Deportivo and Real Mallorca.
But Celtic have not been beaten on their own ground since Ajax won in August 2001 - a statistic that has not gone unnoticed by their opponents.
Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard, whose side are 11 points adrift of Real Madrid in fourth spot in the Spanish championship race, said: "We're not favourites.
"I think it's always hard to play every team in Europe.
"Of course, I am confident - but that doesn't mean that we can relax by any means.
"We are expecting a really hard match. Celtic have a great record here, and we have to wary of that.
"A win has got to be our objective and that is important for the rest of our season."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Celtic squad: Douglas, Kennedy, Balde, Varga, Valgaeren, McNamara, Agathe, Lennon, Petrov, Pearson, Thompson, Larsson, Beattie, Sylla, Marshall, Lambert, Wallace, Smith, Wallace.
Uefa Cup fourth round first leg
Kick-off 2000 GMT
Live coverage on BBC One Scotland, Radio Five Live and the BBC Sport website