Celtic contact UEFA ahead of Barcelona game

With no Messi and being away from home, they may only get one!

Arsenal v Napoli is the pick - roll that music

Rafa against Arsene should test two great managers, with a win for either taking them pretty close to qualifying for the knock out stages. Two wins from two for either would mean 6 points, and a great chance of getting the 9 or 10 you need to progress.

I'm sure some of you stopped reading when I said Rafa was a great manager. But it's true. Look at the stats. He wins. Yes, he's gone to some clubs where it was already set up for him to win, but Rafa has won trophies across Europe and deserves respect. He's a bit of a prat, but he's a good manager, you can't argue with that.

Arsenal v Napoli should be a fun tie. I don't think either are great defensively, but both have attacking players that could grace any pitch.

Milan v Ajax should be another good tie, but Milan should prove too strong. Ajax unfortunately seem to get purged too often, and although they replenish the talent, they can't quite keep up.

Celtic v Barcelona is big for Celtic. There is noise being made that they have a chance with Messi out, but let's be honest; Xavi, Fabregas, Neymar, Iniesta etc. can handle whatever Celtic have. The crowd and atmosphere will help, but Samaras and Commons are good for a one-off, nothing more.

Porto against Atletico, Dortmund/Marseille and Steaua v Chelsea too - can't wait.

Roll the music, it's Champions League week. Enjoy.

Robbie Keane seems excited about scoring

The man with the worst celebration in football still seems to get excited about scoring goals.

He's into double figures with the LA Galaxy again and seems to keep winning player of the week, goal of the day or best second player headball touch award (all legitimate awards in the MLS). 

Ireland's record scorer was on loan at Celtic for 16 games, scoring 12 goals, none of which he got as turned on by as this one apparently...

Animal rights groups may have something to say

It's doubtful that anyone would be watching Celtic Shakhter Karagandy in the Champions League qualifying stage 97.2b today, but this article on the BBC may make it a little more interesting...

The headline is Shakhtar Boss Defends Slaughter Ritual - how can that not make you curious.

All is made me think was how I'd love a lamb donner kebab about now - maybe I'll just hang around Celtic Park later with a bottle of chili sauce and some pita bread.

Here's the link again - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23852624