In 16 attempts Celtic have never recorded an away win in the Champions League. It is a wounding statistic and there would be no time like tonight to put it right. The only problem is, Gordon Strachan and his men are here, about to enter the great fortress called the Nou Camp.

Two weeks ago Gordon Strachan famously warned Celtic’s diehards not to bet their houses on the club seeing off Frank Rijkaard’s team in tonight’s second leg of their Champions League first-knockout-round tie. Having lost 3-2 in Glasgow 13 days ago, Celtic are about to discover if miracles really do happen in football.

It is a tall order for the Scottish champions. For Celtic to win 2-0 tonight, or by some equivalent score, would arguably be the greatest 90-minute feat in the club’s history. In 1967, when Jock Stein’s team famously beat Inter Milan to lift the European Cup, there was no perception of such a gulf between the two teams.

Last night we began to explore mountainous terrain while trying to put the extent of Celtic’s task tonight in context. Would it be akin to climbing Everest, Strachan was asked.

“If not Everest, then the world’s second highest mountain,” he replied.

Yes, but people have actually conquered Everest, someone commented.

“Aye, and a few people have died while trying it,” Strachan said. We got the gist.

There has been a certain straw-clutching optimism coming from some in the Celtic party, such as Aiden McGeady’s claim that Barcelona might be “vulnerable” in defence. While no team can approach such ties in a Private Fraser-like state of doom, Celtic know better than to think anything other than a task of formidable difficulty. Indeed, there was a lack of tension around Strachan yesterday, precisely because his side are such rank outsiders.

“What we need to do is not far off a minor miracle,” the Celtic manager said. “And we need to score. Ideally, we would want to score first, even if with five minutes to go, and make the tie really come alive.

“Barcelona played well at our place but we could have played better. So we will be looking for improvement from all our players. We will have a plan in terms of tactics, but it is down to how we play.

“The Barcelona squad have had every system played against them: every system, every tactic. So we need to hold on to the ball better and be brave when we have it.

“You want to win every game because you are playing for your pride. We are angry that we got beaten in the first leg. We know that Barcelona are a terrific side, but there is nothing wrong with a bit of fear. The fear of getting beaten can push you on to greater things. And when we get the ball, as I say, I hope we will have no fear whatsoever.”

Some have pointed to Barcelona’s most recent result – a surprising 4-2 away defeat by Atletico Madrid in the Spanish league at the weekend – as evidence of frailty in Rijkaard’s team, though that result ended a 15-game unbeaten run for the Catalan side. Strachan dismissed the notion, while asking that his team aid his star players such as McGeady and Scott Brown tonight.

“I watched the Atletico game, and Barcelona started the game well and were unfortunate,” Strachan said.

“Anyway, if you watch any of the Barça games, they invariably have more chances than all the teams they play against. So we’ll need a bit of luck on our side.

“It is up to the rest to take the baton and help their teammates. Some people have to take over. Aiden and Scott carry a lot of the onus but it is up to the rest to help out and my team has been heartening in that respect recently.”

Celtic are expected to use a 4-4-2 formation tonight. On top of everything else Strachan needs to find a right back to play in place of the ineligible Andreas Hinkle.

Mark Wilson, who has suffered nine months of injury, may be drafted in, given the inexperience of Paul Caddis. Paul Hartley is also a candidate for the role.