Saturday 30 July 2016 17:48, UK
Celtic defender Eoghan O'Connell is relishing the prospect of facing Barcelona in the International Champions Cup on Saturday, live on Sky Sports.
The Hoops take on the Spanish champions in Dublin as they prepare for Wednesday's Champions League qualifier with Astana.
Celtic have already played three competitive games and earned a 1-1 draw in Kazakhstan in midweek and hold a slight advantage going into the second-leg with Astana.
O'Connell has made a bright start to the campaign and has been given a run in central defence due to an injury crisis at the club.
He scored in the first International Champions Cup game with Leicester last weekend, a 1-1 draw at Celtic Park, and he is taking the combination of friendlies and competitive matches in his stride.
O'Connell said: "It's a bit of a strange one, but obviously, in a way, it's ideal for us because it tells us where we are at, and then obviously we can use this game to build into Wednesday and take it from there."
The 20-year-old Irishman is likely to face Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez at the Aviva Stadium, and he is keen to learn from the experience.
"It will be a big test for me personally, because they've got top players at the top end of the pitch," O'Connell said.
"But overall as a team they've got world class players, so we're all just looking forward to it, especially me, I'm looking forward to testing myself against the best."
