Celtic enter last-chance saloon against Milan

Celtic FC will aim to seize their big opportunity when AC Milan visit Glasgow on matchday five – but lose and they could be out.

• The Scottish title holders may sit bottom of Group H but, with just two points separating them from second-placed Milan, they would overtake the Rossoneri with victory. Indeed they would jump into second place themselves should they win and section leaders FC Barcelona deny AFC Ajax victory in the group's other fixture.

• Given the congestion in the standings, Milan could end the night bottom of the group but could equally finish it with a ticket to the last 16 for the fifth year running in the event of an away win at Celtic Park and a Barcelona success in Amsterdam.

Past meetings
• The clubs traded home wins when they met in the 2007/08 group stage. Scott McDonald's 89th-minute winner earned Celtic a 2-1 home success following goals by Stephen McManus (61) and Kaká (68), but Carlo Ancelotti's men avenged that defeat with a 1-0 victory at San Siro in their final group fixture, Filippo Inzaghi scoring (70). Gordon Strachan's Celtic still joined Milan in the last 16 as group runners-up.

• The lineups in Glasgow on 3 October 2007 were:
Celtic: Boruc, Perrier Doumbé (Kennedy 79), Caldwell, McManus, Naylor, McGeady (Nakamura 84), Hartley, Donati, Jarošík (Killen 84), Brown, McDonald.
Milan: Dida (Kalac 90), Oddo, Nesta, Bonera, Jankulovski, Ambrosini, Gattuso, Pirlo, Seedorf (Gourcuff 55), Kaká, Inzaghi (Gilardino 77).

• Milan had beaten Celtic in the 2006/07 round of 16 on their way to winning the trophy. After a goalless draw at Celtic Park, Kaká's extra-time strike in the return leg earned the Rossoneri victory. Bonera is another survivor of that tie, while Lennon played for Celtic.

• Lennon also featured at San Siro when Milan struck with two late goals in the clubs' 2004/05 group stage meeting, the hosts earning a 3-1 win through Inzaghi (89) and Andrea Pirlo (90+1) after Stanislav Varga had equalised Andriy Shevchenko's first-half opener. The return in Glasgow finished goalless.

• Celtic visited Milan for the first time in 1968/69, drawing 0-0 in the first leg of their European Champion Clubs' Cup quarter-final tie. However, Piero Prati's lone goal (12) at Celtic sent Milan through and they went on to lift the trophy.

Match background
• Celtic have won eight of their last 11 European fixtures in Glasgow. Including the qualifying rounds, they have won four of five matches at Celtic Park this season, the only blip being their 1-0 defeat against Barcelona on matchday two.

• Overall Celtic have a superb home record in the UEFA Champions League group stage, which reads W16 D5 L2.

• Milan are still seeking their first win on their European travels this term. Prior to losing at Barcelona in their last fixture, they had posted 1-1 draws at PSV Eindhoven in the play-offs and Ajax on matchday two.

• Milan have failed to win in Scotland on their last four visits, their last success coming against Celtic in 1969. Their overall record in the country is W2 D2 L3.

• Beaten 2-0 at Milan on matchday one, Celtic also lost their most recent home encounter with Serie A opposition, a 3-0 defeat against Juventus in last season's round of 16. Alessandro Matri scored the opening goal, just as he did in Juve's 2-0 victory back in Turin. Celtic's overall record against Italian visitors is W4 D4 L2.

• Their most memorable contest against a Serie A side was the first, a 2-1 triumph against FC Internazionale Milano in the 1966/67 European Champion Clubs' Cup final in Lisbon.

Team ties
• Scott Brown was in the Scotland team whose UEFA EURO 2008 qualifying hopes ended with a 2-1 home defeat by Italy in Glasgow on 17 November 2007. Brown's Scotland had been beaten away by an Italy team including Riccardo Montolivo and Giampaolo Pazzini in a UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifier in March 2005.

• Nir Biton's hosts Israel lost 4-0 against Italy at this summer's European U21 Championship, Riccardo Saponara opening the scoring.

• Mikael Lustig's Sweden lost 2-1 against Italy in the 2009 European U21 Championship group stage. Mario Balotelli scored and was sent off for Italy, who also had Ignazio Abate in their team.

• Efe Ambrose's Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2012 CAF Africa Cup of Nations after being held 2-2 at home by Kevin Constant's Guinea in October 2011.

• Emilio Izaguirre was in the Honduras team beaten 5-0 by Robinho's Brazil in a friendly on 16 November.