If FC Barcelona wants a closer look at Celtic striker Henrik Larsson, the Catalans will get it in today's UEFA Cup fourth-round match at Celtic Park.
The Swedish striker has said he'll leave Celtic when the season ends, preferring a move to Spain. Barcelona is interested.
"Yes, he is a player we like a lot but we will just have to wait and see what the summer brings," Barcelona vice president Sandro Rossell told the Scottish Daily Express. "We can't make a move for him at the moment, but it is a possibility in the summer."
The Barca match at Celtic Park is the most intriguing of Thursday's eight games. In the others, it's: Bordeaux versus FC Brugge; Newcastle versus Mallorca; Benfica versus Inter Milan; Liverpool versus Marseille; Genclerbirligi versus Valencia; Auxerre versus PSV Eindhoven; and Villarreal versus AS Roma.
The showdown between Celtic -- last season's UEFA Cup runner-up -- and Barca feels more like a cup final than a round-of-16 game.
"I would have loved to have played Barcelona at the UEFA Cup final," Celtic defender Bobo Balde said.
"Now we have to work hard, keep our focus and try to play as well as we can. But we know it will be hard game."
Celtic has all but wrapped up the Scottish Premier League and is unbeaten at home in 73 straight games in all competitions. The last lost was to Ajax in a Champions League match in August 2001.
"We feel confident and it is nice to be taking our undefeated record into the game, but that doesn't mean much," Balde said.
Larsson will have to do most of the scoring with forward John Hartson lost for the season and Chris Sutton doubtful.
Barcelona, which has won seven straight league games, welcomes back Mexican defender Rafael Marquez and Spanish midfielder Gerard Lopez from injury.
Midfielder Luis Enrique Martinez is suspended, Dutch international Edgar Davids is ineligible and Dutch defender Giovanni van Bronckhorst and striker Patrick Kluivert are injured.
"Celtic's a difficult team, particularly when it's at home," Ronaldinho said. "They're very tough but not only that. Even though some people may find it hard to believe they're very skillful."
Roma looks like a strong favorite to reach the quarterfinals, although the Italians trail league-leader AC Milan by five points and may be focusing more on that competition. Roma, which defeated Inter 4-1 on Sunday, will have striker Vincenzo Montella back from injury at Spain's Villarreal. But striker Francesco Totti and midfielder Olivier Dacourt will stay home to rest.
Inter, the other Italian side in the competition, is coming off four straight league losses, and coach Alberto Zaccheroni is on the brink of being fired. Inter will be at only half-strength against Benfica. Striker Christian Vieri and defender Marco Materazzi are suspended, and defender Francesco Coco and midfielders Mathias Almeyda and Emre Belozoglu are out injured. Two other key players, Dejan Stankovic and Brazilian Adriano, are ineligible, and Mohamed Kallon is out with a doping suspension.
Two big English clubs, Liverpool and Newcastle, and Spain's Valencia look like favorites to reach the quarterfinals.
Liverpool is at Anfield against Marseille, and Titi Camara, who has played for both clubs, knows Liverpool can be troublesome.
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