Celtic aim to spring a surprise

Medical science is a dirty phrase around the Stadio delle Alpi, yet Martin O'Neill may choose it as the perfect stage to cast off his football geneology, as Group E of the Champions' League begins belatedly in Turin tonight.

The Celtic manager has pledged to depart from his innate caution in a bid to catch Juventus by surprise."I don't think they will know a lot about us," mused O'Neill yesterday.

To the Italians, the Scottish champions will be almost unknowns, thanks to the postponement of last week's opening matches. O'Neill hopes the tactic of surprise will work as effectively as it did in the qualifying round, when Celtic polished off Ajax 3-1 in Amsterdam.

"It is not in our DNA to underestimate anyone," insisted Juventus coach Marcello Lippi, who welcomes back Edgar Davids after a four-month ban from Fifa for having nandrolone found in his system.

For Lippi, only victory will suffice. He guided Juventus to the Champions' League in 1996, and two subsequent finals where they lost to Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid.

His counterpart, however, is more pragmatic. "Juventus are obviously strong favourites but Roberto Bettega [the president] has already said he hopes to have the group tied up before he comes to Glasgow," O'Neill said.

"They are thinking positively, as they are entitled to do having spent almost £110m. But we have a chance. We are not thinking of stepping into this stadium and being frightened – if you are frightened, you will get done.

"I don't mind getting beaten. It won't be a killer blow, but I would like points as soon as possible. We're not looking for an away goal here, its points, though I would settle for a draw."

Juve, backed as they are by Gianni Agnelli, the owner of Fiat, still required the sale of Zinedine Zidane to Real Madrid for £47m before embarking on the shopping spree that brought defender Lilian Thuram and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon from Parma, and industrious midfielder Pavel Nedved from Lazio.

"Lilian Thuram is one of the best defenders in the world," O'Neill said, "but, as Ajax discovered, there are not too many people who can live with Agathe's pace.

"Larsson is obviously capable of getting us a goal at any time. We've changed over the last 15 months and I think the players not only have more belief in themselves now, but in each other and I have no fears about my players' inexperience."

Nedved is suspended for tonight's match, but that allows Davids the chance to return to the big stage.

Celtic came to Turin on European Cup duty exactly 20 years ago and departed with a 2-0 defeat thanks to a goal from the now-president Bettega. Yet the Stadio delle Alpi is not the fortress the old Stadio Communale was; SV Hamburg won there last season in the Champions' League – one of the results that helped put La Vecchia Signora out of the tournament.

But, as O'Neill pointed out: "We are not playing Juventus last season. They have different players, are bang in form and are top of the Italian league."

Juventus (probable 3-4-1-2): Buffon; Montero, Thuram, Iuliano; Zambrotta, Tacchinardi, Davids, Pessotto; Del Piero; Trezeguet, Salas.

Celtic (probable 3-5-2): Douglas; Mjallby, Balde, Valgaeren; Agathe, Petrov, Lambert, Lennon, Thompson; Sutton, Larsson.

Referee: H Krug (Ger)