Villareal Preview: “Uh-oh” Edition

By: Matt | September 29th, 2008

I know Celtic fans have a tendency to focus on only Celtic’s results and the results of Rangers. “My two favorite teams are Celtic and whoever beat Rangers” and all of that jazz. But know might be a good time for those in Timdom to take a gander at the La Liga Offside page. Besides being a shameless promotion, you might notice that our opponents tomorrow, Villareal, have a new blogger and he seems like a nice enough fellow. Of course, anyone would be in a good mood when your club is top of La Liga. Yes, that La Liga. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla, etc La Liga. We have them tomorrow, in Spain, an away Champions League match for Celtic. Oy vey. This weekend, Villareal beat La Liga’s whipping boy Sporting Gijon to remain on top of the league.

There is some good news coming into the match, with Villareal wonder-striker Nihat Kahveci out because of injury. “The Yellow Submarines” will also be missing Chilean midfielder Matias Fernandez was also injured during this weekend’s action and will miss Tuesday’s match. Finally, Americans might be disappointed that new signing Jozy Altidore will not be dressing for the match. Even without those pieces, Villareal is still a very, very good team. Javier, the Villareal blogger, said this about Celtic in his last blog, “Next week we face the Scottish team Celtic FC. Which IMO poses a larger threat then anything were playing soon. That should be a great matchup, and I can say I’m quite excited to be streaming that from my Photography class (Don’t ask).” Kind lip service, but Celtic seem to be outclassed here.

Once again the weight of our Champions League hopes will fall on the shoulders of Artur Boruc. The big man will no doubt be asked to keep Celtic in it with some saves, especially with the state of our defense. Normally, Celtic’s defense in Champions League ties is mediocre at best, but add into the fact that right back Andy Hinkel will be out of the match could mean more trouble. While Hinkel has struggled to find form at Celtic, he is “Champions League” class, something that his replacement Mark Wilson seriously lacks. Barry Robson is also questionable for the tie, in a match where Celtic could use his tackling in the middle and play-making ability.

Along with relying on Boruc, one of Celtic’s “premier” players, Aiden McGeady will also need to show up. McGeady seemed to be rejuvenated in his substitute appearance on Saturday and hopefully this performance will get him un-”Riordaned” in Gordon Strachan’s eyes. Without McGeady, Celtic lack that creative touch and play-making ability.

Celtic’s away Champions League record has been pretty bad. It doesn’t seem to matter who it is against, where it is, or what is needed, results just seem to lack. But every streak must end, right? This is what I am trying to tell myself, but with all of Villareal’s class and skill, Spain might be a tough place to end this streak. I think most Celtic fans would be content with stealing a point in Spain, but who knows? Maybe a rejuvenated Aiden McGeady will be just what the doctor ordered. Official Prediction: Celtic 2-Villareal 1. Aiden McGeady with two assists on crosses to Georgios “Oh Ah Samaras” and Scott McDonald.