HIS goals helped deliver four league titles to Celtic Park, and when he left to join Barcelona it was two of his assists in the 2006 Champions League final against Arsenal following his game-changing intervention as a substitute that ensured the European Cup went back to the Camp Nou, so it is understandable that Henrik Larsson will be a man with mixed emotions on Wednesday night.

Remembering that dramatic cameo in Paris this week, Larsson recalled: "That was my moment. I sat on the bench and watched the way the Arsenal defenders were playing and how they moved. I was ready to play that game and I was fortunate enough to come on and give the two assists for the goals that won us the game."

Fast forward six years to Wednesday night's meeting and the man who scored 242 goals for Celtic before moving to Catalonia believes Neil Lennon's side showed enough in the narrow defeat at the Camp Nou to suggest they can cause an upset on home soil. He also believes his old team-mate Neil Lennon is well on the way to leading Celtic back to the days when, as under Martin O'Neill, they were match for anyone in Europe.

In an exclusive interview with ZOOMSPORT Larsson said: "Right now you can upset Barcelona a little because they are without Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique. Dani Alves has only just come back and it is not the back four that they would love to have. You saw it in the first game at set-pieces, they were a little bit short and there is no doubt that they are missing Pique and Puyol who are used to competing in the air. It is going to be another great game."

Larsson knows all about how difficult it can be for teams to perform at the Camp Nou. But he is also well aware how a big European night at Celtic Park can create seismic shocks and hand the home side a huge advantage. He said: "European nights are so noisy. You are not going to be able to hear yourself speak. Every time a Celtic player gets on the ball the roar will go up, and when they do the huddle it will be something special, even for the Barcelona players."

Larsson is currently managing Landskrona BoIS in Sweden's second division. Having played under Sir Alex Ferguson, Frank Rijkaard and O'Neill he says: "I have taken something from all my former mangers and tried to make it fit with my personality. My one regret is I didn't stay longer at Manchester United because it was a fantastic experience to work with one of the best managers of all time. People don't realise how passionate Ferguson is about the game. The way he works is just exceptional."

Larsson was a team-mate of current Celtic manager Lennon the last time the Scottish champions were a force in Europe, reaching the Uefa Cup final in 2003. He believes he has them back on course to become a European force once more.

"I'm sure Lenny and Johan Mjallby are trying to build something similar to the Martin O'Neill side. At the same time they will want to leave their own mark on the team. They will want to mark it with the things they stand for.

"They were both very competitive and very tactically aware and they will be trying to impose that on their team. They are trying to rebuild something that was very good but trying to make it even better. To go to Barcelona and almost upset them is very important because it shows they are on the right path."

Larsson admits he will be torn over who to favour in Wednesday's group G game. "I have a lot of feeling for both clubs," he declared. "It was the right time to move on from Celtic. It was getting to the point where if I didn't score in two games people would say 'ah he's not the same player; he's getting on a little bit now'. I wanted to leave while I still had something to offer. I dreamed of somewhere like Barcelona, but I never thought I would have the chance to go there. But fortunately I was wrong."

After coming back from an injury- wrecked first season he had that career defining-moment when as a second half supersub in Paris he gave Barcelona their second European Cup. "I got the injury and I knew how hard it would be to come back because I had been through it before," he recalled.

"I knew the work that had to be put in because you want to come back good, you don't want to just come back average. But I put the work in and I'm glad I did because if I hadn't, I never would have won that Champions League. It was my time to do something from the bench that night. I knew if I got my chance I would be able to do something."

Asked to pick out the best player he had ever played alongside, Larsson paid tribute to team-mates from both the former clubs who face each other this week. "I've been fortunate to play with some great players," he said. "Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, Rooney and Ronaldo stand out of those who are still playing. Overall for strikers it would have to be Ronaldinho and for midfielders Xavi. And if you are looking at strike partners then it would have to be Chris Sutton."