AC Milan v CelticTonight's visit to San Siro is Celtic's fourth match of 2007 with Milan, but there is no monotony. These encounters have fed a belief in Gordon Strachan's team that they can cope with opponents of such standing. A draw this evening would guarantee that Celtic accompany the Serie A side into the last 16 of the Champions League.
The Scottish club got to the knockout phase last season and were eliminated by Carlo Ancelotti's side in March by the single goal of the tie in extra-time. In Group D of the current campaign, they defeated the Champions League holders 2-1 in Glasgow.
"They said we were their toughest opponents on the way to the title and that lifts you," said the defender Gary Caldwell. The trouble with such positive talk is that it does not divert anyone for long from the realisation that Celtic generally fail to travel well.
The club have only ever taken one point on their Champions League jaunts, although it came in a 1-1 draw with Barcelona in 2004. On the wider perspective, it is 14 months since Celtic kept a clean sheet in an away match in any competition.
Strachan, understandably, can get exasperated by references to the statistic.
He could argue that this has scarcely been Celtic's downfall, in view of the four trophies gathered during his tenure. Even so, the manager must have been aghast on Saturday when a 1-0 lead at Hearts was converted into a scoring draw after Caldwell conceded a penalty in injury time.
"There is no scientific formula to football and if there was one I would change it to let us win away," said the Celtic manager. He might settle for having a single experienced full-back fit and his defence, in practice, is rather makeshift.
Strachan may adopt a 4-1-4-1 system for security purposes, with Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink mooted as the sole striker.
Celtic will play Artur Boruc against AC Milan despite fears he needs a knee operation. The Poland goalkeeper will be examined after the Champions League encounter to determine whether he goes under the knife this week.
Celtic will still be without injured defenders Lee Naylor (calf), John Kennedy (knee), Mark Wilson (knee) and Jean-Joel Perrier-Doumbe (Achilles), while midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura (knee) is also missing.
Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti has warned Celtic they will have their work cut out to earn the point they need.
"I will not make any changes," Ancelotti said. "We are giving a lot of importance to this game. We will play with our best line-up tomorrow. Even if we have already qualified, we want to finish top of our group."
Ancelotti will have to do without Brazilian striker Ronaldo, who sustained a calf injury last week
However, he will have Kaka, who was named European Footballer of the Year on Sunday.
Moreover, veteran striker Filippo Inzaghi is also in buoyant mood and is one goal away from becoming the record goalscorer in Uefa competitions - he is currently level with German great Gerd Muller on 62 goals.
Inzaghi is set to partner Alberto Gilardino up front.
"Regardless of tomorrow's game, Inzaghi will have other opportunities to surpass Muller," said Ancelotti. "He really wants to do it and we hope he will be able to do so tomorrow."
Milan welcome back midfielder Massimo Ambrosini, who missed last week's draw at Benfica through suspension.
PROBABLE LINE-UPS
AC MILAN (4-3-2-1) Dida; Bonera, Nesta, Kaladze, Favalli; Gattuso, Pirlo, Ambrosini; Kaka, Seedorf; Inzaghi. Subs from: Kalac, Cafu, Oddo, Simic, Gourcuff, Aubameyang, Gilardino.
CELTIC (4-1-4-1) Boruc; Caldwell, Pressley, McManus, O'Dea; Hartley; McGeady, S Brown, Donati, Jarosik; Vennegoor of Hesselink. Subs from: M Brown, Sno, Caddis, Riordan, McDonald, Zurawski, Killen.
Referee: T Ovrebo (Norway).
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