Villarreal vs Celtic preview

[celtickieran89]

Can Celtic sink the 'Yellow submarines'?

The second round of matches in this years Champions League see's Celtic take on Spanish side Villarreal at El Madrigal.

The Bhoys' dreadful away record in this competition is well documented and they will be looking to take something from the game in front of around a 25,000 crowd.

After their stuttering start to the campaign (0-0 draw with Aalborg), manager Gordon Strachan and some of the players have already come out and said they need to pick up a win on the road if they are to advance to the last 16 for the third season in a row.

That, however, is easier said than done. The Chilean boss, Manuel Pellegrini, has assembled a good squad and that showed with their second place finish in La Liga, finishing ahead of the likes of Sevilla, Valencia, Athletico Madrid and, of course, Barcelona. They managed this with a far more modest budget.

The squad is an compelling blend of youth and experience, and they will be confident after a draw at the home of the European Champions, Manchester United.

They boast a wealth of attacking talent, including several South Americans, and still have the much-admired Marcos Senna in their midfield. They also have former Arsenal duo Robert Pires and Pascal Cygan, and former Manchester United rookie, Guiseppe Rossi. Celtic fans will remember Edmilson, who has played against the club with Lyon and Barcelona. They will, however, be without Chilean Matias Fernandez, Euro 2008 star Nihat and Jozy Altidore, the USA's latest boy wonder.

Key Player - Santi Cazorla
This diminutive midfielder has been capped 10 times by his country and will certainly be one of the great threats to Celtic on Tuesday. The 23 year-old re-joined Villarreal in 2007, and turned down a move to Real Madrid in the summer. Although still young, he has experience in the Champions League, UEFA Cup (now Europa League) and the European Championships.

The recent history of Villarreal has been nothing short of remarkable, and they hope to go one further than they did in 2006, when they came so agonisingly close to the final.Key players such as Diego Forlan and Juan Roman Riquelme have since left the club, but they are still one of the teams to watch in the competition

The two clubs have formed a bond after meeting in the UEFA Cup Quarter-finals 5 years ago (which Villarreal won) and it promises to be an exciting, intriguing and nail-bitingly tense 90 minutes of football, with Villarreal being made favourites to take all 3 points.

However, Celtic have been in form of late. They cruised past Motherwell, Kilmarnock and Livingston lead by the goals of Greek striker Georgios Samaras, and the form of the returning Shaun Maloney.

There was a dark cloud hanging above Celtic Park after the clash with the Danish champions, but one week 7 goals and 2 wins later and once again the place is vibrant and optimistic for the weeks ahead. A week is a long time in football after all.

The manager has been given something of a selection headache ahead of the game, with players competing for places all across the park.

Domestically, Celtic are aiming to once again win the annual tug of war with arch rivals Rangers and take the league title back to Paradise for the fourth time under Strachan's leadership, but the Champions League is arguably the biggest source of excitement for the Parkhead faithful.

With the Bhoys strutting their stuff on the continent, it is sure to be rubbing salt into the still raw wounds of the Rangers fans, having been unceremoniously dumped out of Europe by Lithuanian minnows FBK Kaunas.
After a 4-2 defeat at home against their Old Firm rivals, an away win against the Spanish side would surely shift the beaming smiles and bragging rights in the direction of Celtic fans in workplaces and playgrounds all across the land.

Many people have already written off the Glasgow giants chances of qualifying this year. History tells us that you should never write Celtic off....