Hinkel: Confident
Andreas Hinkel is confident that Celtic can keep their UEFA Champions League hopes alive with victory over Aalborg on Tuesday.
The Scottish champions have never won an away match in the group phase of the competition and they have already lost at Villarreal and Manchester United this season.
Celtic need to win their last two matches and hope other results go their way if they are to progress to the last 16, and defender Hinkel is expecting a tough task against an Aalborg side in a similar situation.
However, Hinkel believes Celtic will finally have something to celebrate on their travels in Denmark.
"It is incredible to hear about this record but I think it will come to an end on Tuesday," said the German.
"A record like this normally doesn't matter, but it is there in the heads of everyone, and Tuesday is a chance to change it.
"It is a chance to set us free. This is a part of the history of Celtic, and we can change it.
"It will be a hard game. Aalborg will fight, and so will we.
"It is the last chance for both teams. Both teams can go through to the Uefa Cup, and we can still go through to the last 16.
"Okay, it is not a big chance, but it is still possible."
Hinkel feels that if Celtic are still in with a chance by the time they face Villarreal in their final group game, then they can topple the Spaniards at home.
"It is not in our own hands. We need Manchester United to win in Villarreal.
"But nothing is impossible in football, and if we win, and Manchester United win, then it will be like a final at Celtic Park [against Villarreal).
"Any team can struggle at Celtic Park with its atmosphere - and they would have problems with that."
| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Tuesday 24th November | |
| UEFA Champions League | |
| 17:30 | Rubin Kazan vs Dynamo Kiev |
| 19:45 | AZ vs Olympiacos |
| 19:45 | Arsenal vs Standard Liege |
| 19:45 | Barcelona vs Inter Milan |
| 19:45 | Debrecen vs Liverpool |
| 19:45 | Fiorentina vs Lyon |
| 19:45 | Rangers vs VfB Stuttgart |
| 19:45 | Unirea Urziceni vs Sevilla |
| Wednesday 25th November | |
| UEFA Champions League | |
| 17:30 | CSKA Moscow vs Wolfsburg |
| 19:45 | AC Milan vs Marseille |
| 19:45 | Apoel Nicosia vs Atletico Madrid |
| 19:45 | Bayern Munich vs Maccabi Haifa |
| 19:45 | Bordeaux vs Juventus |
| 19:45 | FC Porto vs Chelsea |
| 19:45 | Man Utd vs Besiktas |
| 19:45 | Real Madrid vs FC Zurich |
| Tuesday 8th December | |
| UEFA Champions League | |
| 19:45 | Atletico Madrid vs FC Porto |
| 19:45 | Besiktas vs CSKA Moscow |
| 19:45 | Chelsea vs Apoel Nicosia |
| 19:45 | FC Zurich vs AC Milan |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Wednesday 4th November | |
| UEFA Champions League | |
| Lyon 1 - 1 Liverpool | |
| Fiorentina 5 - 2 Debrecen | |
| Dynamo Kiev 1 - 2 Inter Milan | |
| Rubin Kazan 0 - 0 Barcelona | |
| Unirea Urziceni 1 - 1 Rangers | |
| Sevilla 1 - 1 VfB Stuttgart | |
| Standard Liege 2 - 0 Olympiacos | |
| Arsenal 4 - 1 AZ | |
| Tuesday 3rd November | |
| UEFA Champions League | |
| Maccabi Haifa 0 - 1 Juventus | |
| Bayern Munich 0 - 2 Bordeaux | |
| Besiktas 0 - 3 Wolfsburg | |
| Man Utd 3 - 3 CSKA Moscow | |
| Marseille 6 - 1 FC Zurich | |
| AC Milan 1 - 1 Real Madrid | |
| Atletico Madrid 2 - 2 Chelsea | |
| Apoel Nicosia 0 - 1 FC Porto | |
| Wednesday 21st October | |
| UEFA Champions League | |
| Juventus 1 - 0 Maccabi Haifa | |
| Bordeaux 2 - 1 Bayern Munich | |
| Wolfsburg 0 - 0 Besiktas | |
| CSKA Moscow 0 - 1 Man Utd | |
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 4 | 10 |
| 2 | Olympiakos FC | 4 | 6 |
| 3 | Standard Liege | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | AZ Alkmaar | 4 | 2 |
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