Celtic vs. Barcelona: Confirmed Lineups and analysis for Champions League opener
European nights are back for Celtic, naturally that means a visit to and from Barcelona…because UEFA love themselves a good laugh.
That said, Celtic vs. Barcelona kick off their Group C campaigns against each other at the Nou Camp on Tuesday night and here are the official starting lineups.
Celtic FC Starting Lineup:
???? Celtic starting XI to face @FCBarcelona. #UCL #FCBCFC (MN) pic.twitter.com/sGcn7zfu54
— Celtic Football Club (@celticfc) September 13, 2016
FC Barcelona Starting Lineup:
???????? Barça XI:
1.Ter Stegen
3.Piqué
4.Rakitic
5.Sergio
9.Suárez
10.Messi
11.Neymar
18.Jordi Alba
20.S.Roberto
21.A.Gomes
23.Umtiti #FCBlive— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) September 13, 2016
With Leigh Griffiths still out due to a hamstring injury, Brendan Roberts had some decisions to make once again. He appears to have made some interesting choices, including the debut of late transfer window signing Cristian Gamboa as a winger.
There are five defensive players in this lineup and it appears wing play is going to be key in this mathcup. Expect to see a 5-4-1 lineup and the hope for Celtic to be able to counter as much as possible with the play of Gamboa and Tierney linking up with Roberts and Sinclair down the wings.
Hoops fans saw the best of Scott Sinclair, Tomas Rogic and the in-form Moussa Dembele on the weekend and need more of that attacking performance against a much better opponent on Tuesday night in Barcelona. However, Rogic is dropped in favor of the returning young star Patrick Roberts.
As for the Spanish giants, they are coming off an embarrassing 2-1 home defeat to La Liga newcomers Alavés. That loss also gave a scare that international superstar Lionel Messi may not be fit for the match at mid-week, however he is fully fit and the three-headed attack monster is intact for this matchup.
Barcelona will also see the return of goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen in goal and that could be a massive difference maker for the home side in this matchup.
It is safe to say that styles will clash in this tie, and that Celtic appear ready for an offensive onslaught hoping to limit damage while also attacking the weakness of the Barca team on the counter.
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