O’Neill prepared to gamble on Sutton

MARTIN O’NEILL is ready to take one of the biggest gambles of his career in Spain tonight by picking Chris Sutton against Villarreal in the second leg of the UEFA Cup quarter-final.

Villarreal are in the driving seat after their 1-1 draw at Parkhead last week and Celtic manager O’Neill is desperate for Sutton to play.

The striker caused great concern at the weekend by hobbling off after scoring two goals in Celtic’s Tennent’s Scottish Cup semi-final victory over Livingston when his long-standing groin problem flared up again.

Sutton declared himself fit in the aftermath of that game and his manager is ready to take a risk on him in Spain tonight.

“He couldn’t train today and I will leave that until the last possible minute,” said the Northern Irishman.

“But I’m sure if Chris will want to deal himself in he will certainly start the game.

“If he wants to do that we will do that.

“It is hard to say what his chances are but he wants to try and that will be good enough for us if that’s what he wants to do.”

Celtic goalkeeper David Marshall is expecting another eventful evening on his return to Spain.

The 19-year-old earned plaudits for his performance in the UEFA Cup fourth-round clash at the Nou Camp with a string of great saves when he replaced the suspended Rob Douglas.

Marshall has since kept the number one jersey and will line up against Villarreal in the quarter-final decider.

But the teenager is adamant the Hoops can progress to the last four.

Marshall said: “I think I’ll be busy. I am confident we can win it though.

“Villarreal are a good side, we knew that before the first leg, but we created a lot of chances in the second-half of the game at Parkhead.

“They hit us on the break a couple of times when they were pushing up and looking for another goal and I was lucky with the chance when Sonny Anderson got through.”

But the teenager is desperate to sample a major European final as his teammates did in Seville last year.

Porto eventually denied the Hoops with an extra-time win in the Spanish city.

But Marshall is keen to make his own mark in the UEFA Cup this year in Gothenburg next month.

He told the club’s official website, www.celticfc.net: “I’m looking forward to the game and it will be a hard match, but I do believe we are capable of getting to the semi-final.

“I know how disappointed everyone was when we lost the final against Porto last season.

Villarreal coach Paquito should be able to call on a full squad.

Wingers Jose Mari (back) and Antonio Guayre (torn muscle) have both recovered from their injuries and will be able to line up against Scottish champions-elect Celtic.

Club president, Fernando Roig is trying to play down the optimism generated by the 1-1 draw in the first leg, insisting he never expected his side’s first European adventure to take them so far.

“We have already gone far past the objectives we set ourselves, but let’s see if we can qualify for the semi-finals,” he said.