5 Reasons Celtic will beat Barcelona

4. Celtic Park

Home field advantage is important for every team, but more so than others.

There are some places that have something special about them, an inexplicable intangible that reason alone cannot account for.

Celtic Park on Champions League nights is one of those places, as a stunned Manchester City found to their cost in the 3-3 draw on matchday two.

Let’s be honest, Celtic’s home form in UEFA competition recently has been patchy.

Going back to the beginning  of last season’s qualifying campaign, Celtic have won six, drawn two and lost three of their last eleven home European ties.

All six of those wins were in qualifiers and Celtic are looking at going winless at home in two consecutive group stages for the first time ever.

Yet the record in Champions League group stage and beyond is impressive. Barcelona are one of only four, including Juventus, AC Milan and Borussia Monchengladbach this season, to have won at Celtic Park.

Of Celtic’s six losses in 29 home Champions League ‘proper’ matches, Barca account for three.

The Catalans are the only team to have won twice at Celtic Park in the UEFA Champions League group stage or beyond since the Bhoys first qualification 15 years ago.

There is a sense that after five visits in twelve years, the mystique is wearing off on Barca yet Celtic will need to harness the energy, the enthusiasm and the nervous tension to try to throw their familiar foes off guard once again.