Celtic v AC Milan:To his eternal credit, Gordon Strachan has never bemoaned Celtic's injury situation in advance of any of this season's Champions League matches but the manager is entitled to feel fate has dealt him an unjust European hand.
Each of the Parkhead club's games in Europe's premier club competition have been preceded by injuries to key players, rendering planning almost impossible for Strachan. The build-up to tonight's visit of Milan, Celtic's first appearance in the last 16 of the tournament in its current format, has been no different.
The likely set-up of the Celtic defence and attack remains open to conjecture, with three forwards - Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Craig Beattie and Maciej Zurawski, missing training yesterday and the centrehalves Bobo Balde and Gary Caldwell remaining on the injury list. Steven Pressley, signed by Strachan to bolster his back-line, is ineligible for the tie having featured for Hearts at the qualifying stage.
"We could rest people before these games but that was never an option," said Strachan, whose team are yet to concede a home goal in this Champions League campaign. "The league is the priority for us; this is a huge bonus and the players deserve to be involved for the work they have put in this season and last season.
"I would like to stop Milan scoring. That's not how we'll set up, but if it gets to the end of the night and they haven't scored then we'll be in a decent position." Vennegoor of Hesselink, who featured in only two of Celtic's six group matches due to a series of injury problems, is the player Strachan will be most anxious to see recover from hamstring trouble with the signs already appearing positive for the Dutchman.
Beattie and Zurawski, though, are almost certain to miss out, meaning Aiden McGeady or Kenny Miller will be used to support Vennegoor of Hesselink. Miller has recovered from oral surgery and a collision with an assistant referee at Aberdeen on Saturday, after which he required stitches, but has found the net only once in the last three months.
In defence, Strachan must decide whether to give the 20-year-old Republic of Ireland player Darren O'Dea his first Champions League start; the manager's only alternative would appear to be moving a more experienced player such as Paul Telfer or Mark Wilson, both full-backs, to centrehalf. John Kennedy, who has not played a match since suffering knee damage on his international debut for Scotland three years ago, is among the substitutes.
Despite their low-key domestic season, Strachan remains under no illusions over the quality of Carlo Ancelotti's team, particularly in midfield. Only Arsenal enjoyed more possession during the group stages than Celtic's opponents, with the Scottish champions set to utilise the ball-winning skills of Evander Sno in an attempt to prevent Milan from imposing such a style at Parkhead.
"That midfield is a class act," Strachan said. "It can do everything: pass, tackle and run with or without the ball. They are great as a unit but if you took each of the players and put them in another team, they would still be great players.
"Their professionalism is first class. In all the videos I have watched of Milan, they have never been beaten. They seem to be getting back into full flow now after their eight-point deduction. But we are feeling good about ourselves and are in a good run of form."
Ancelotti believes the match could be a chance to restore the tarnished image of Italian football. The Italian game, still smarting from last year's Serie A match-fixing scandal, suffered another massive blow to its public image earlier this month when a policeman was killed in rioting at a match between Catania and Palermo.
Milan have won five of their last six Serie A games despite injuries to key players. Striker Filippo Inzaghi is missing after failing to recover from a muscle strain, while leading scorer this season, Alberto Gilardino, and midfielder Clarence Seedorf are struggling to shake off minor injuries.
"On paper, Celtic look an easier opponent than some of the others, but they remain a dangerous team, especially at home, where they try to impose their rhythm on the match. We will have to pay a lot of attention to defence," Ancelotti said.
Guardian Service
