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CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Strachan aims to make Benfica work

/noticias.info/ by Alex O'Henley
from Glasgow

Celtic FC have a number of injury concerns as they prepare to host SL Benfica in the first of their potentially decisive back-to-back fixtures in Group F. Midfielder Thomas Gravesen is out with a hamstring problem, while Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Aiden McGeady and Maciej Żurawski are struggling with respective ankle and hamstring ailments sustained on international duty.

'Give them a game'
The 19-year-old former Feyenoord trainee Evander Sno is vying with Jiří Jarošík to replace Gravesen in central midfield and Gordon Strachan intends to leave it as late as possible before finalising his lineup. "There have been a few missing from training," the manager said. "On Tuesday we will get together and see who walks into the training field and then pick the best eleven. I am quite confident whatever team we pick will be able to give Benfica a good game."

Sno fall-back
Sno deputised for Gravesen in Saturday's 4-1 win at Dundee United FC and the teenager, named after boxing champion Evander Holyfield, told uefa.com he is ready to make his UEFA Champions League debut and prove that Feyenoord made a mistake in releasing him this summer. "I would love to start," he said. "I am ready to stay in the team and it would be nice to show people back in Holland what I can do at the highest level."

Benfica buoyed
Having collected their first victory at home against FC København on Matchday 2, the Glasgow club have an opportunity to consolidate second place behind Manchester United FC over the next two games. The ultimate target is progress to the knockout stages for the first time in five attempts. However, Strachan refuses to look too far ahead and is mindful that Benfica, 4-0 winners at UD Leiria at the weekend, are finding their feet after a sluggish start to the campaign. "Benfica took a while to get going, but you can see by their result that they're up and running," he said. "You've got two sides who are playing reasonably well and are more settled, so it looks like it's going to be a good game."

Mixed opinions
Like their hosts, Benfica are weakened by injury with Paulo Jorge, Georgios Karagounis and Rui Costa missing out. Goalscoring legend Eusébio, who played in the teams' only previous meeting in 1969, was among the party that arrived in Glasgow and the former Portugal striker promptly made Celtic favourites to win. Strachan is treading more carefully, insisting it is "an honour to be playing against a club with such great history", while visiting coach Fernando Santos is aiming for three points following Benfica's draw in Copenhagen and defeat by United.

'Going for goals'
"We are going to go for goals," said Santos. "We will play to win and have a more offensive strategy." Forward Fabrizio Miccoli, who scored twice on Saturday, echoed that optimism: "I am enjoying playing alongside Simão and Nuno Gomes. We were unlucky not to get something from our last game at home against Manchester United but we hope to do better here in Glasgow."

Probable teams
Celtic FC: Artur Boruc; Paul Telfer, Gary Caldwell, Stephen McManus, Lee Naylor; Shunsuke Nakamura, Neil Lennon, Evander Sno/Jiří Jarošík, Shaun Maloney; Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink/Maciej Żurawski, Kenny Miller.

SL Benfica: Quim; Alcides, Luisão, Ricardo Rocha, Léo; Nuno Assis, Konstantinos Katsouranis, Petit, Simão; Fabrizio Miccoli, Nuno Gomes. notas_de_prensa_archivo