Chris Davies confirms Scott Brown fit for Nou Camp, but Griffiths won't be risked

Celtic assistant manager Chris Davies says Saturday's 5-1 Old Firm win was ideal preparation for tomorrow night's Champions League Group C opener against Barcelona at the Nou Camp.

Speaking at Glasgow Airport before the Hoops squad set off he said: "We're in a good place, everyone's happy, everyone's looking forward to it"

Davies also confirmed striker Leigh Giffiths, who missed Saturday's game against Rangers, won't be risked tomorrow night.

However captain Scott Brown, who was taken off with around 15 minutes left to play, has recovered from a knock and is ready to start in the Nou Camp.

"Scott Brown's fit, he's in the travelling squad

"Again on the weekend he was fantastic, he's been fantastic since the minute we got here, and we're going to need him."

Davies was also asked about how he and manager Brendan Rodgers intend to cope with the Spanish Champions' fabled front three, including one player they're very familiar with.

He said: "We all know the level of these players (Messi, Suarez and Neymar), top players, Suarez was obviously with us at Liverpool.

"I think you have to have your game plan and execute it perfectly if you're going to win any points at all."

"It's about trying to control the space that they attack as much as you can, and then trying to create when you have the ball.

"We've got a game plan which we've been looking at, we'll see what that means system-wise but obviously we're going to have to be perfect on the night to get any points."

Englishman Davies also agreed Barcelona will be feeling extra pressure after a shock home league defeat to minnows Deportivo Alaves at the weekend: "We're a big club ourselves and we know it's not nice to lose at home- it puts a bit more pressure on the next game."

But he also insists Celtic's management team is more interested in their own form: "We can take a lot of confidence into this game, we had a pre-season friendly against them which was probably good for us, it gave us a feel for being around their players, and we're in great form, I've no doubt whatsoever Barcelona will be respecting the level we're going to bring."

Davies says matches like tomorrow night's showpiece at the Nou Camp are Celtic's reward for a gruelling qualification campaign: "We've earned the right to be here, we've had some difficult games in places like Israel and Kazakhstan, the players, the fans and the club deserve to be here."