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Celtic's Hooper eagerly anticipating Atletico Madrid clash

Celtic striker Gary Hooper is full of confidence going into this week's Europa League meeting with Atletico Madrid.

The Hoops host the Spaniards at Parkhead on Wednesday night and Hooper, who netted a hat-trick in the 5-0 win over St Mirren on Saturday, feels the Glasgow giants are hitting form at the right time to keep their qualification chances alive.

"This could be the start of it - or maybe it started a few weeks ago," he said of the club's good recent run of form.

"But as far as the team performance and my own goes then yes - we will see when we play Atletico.

"The result against St Mirren will boost our confidence for Wednesday and I would like to get on the scoresheet again.

"We can rest up ahead of it but we have to keep playing like we have and win every game.

"I'm not saying we will beat Atletico but if we play like we have it will be a really good game.

"They'll know Parkhead is a difficult place to visit especially with the way we are playing at the moment."

Celtic sits third on the Group I table on five points, two behind Atletico and Udinese, with two matches remaining and will be looking for maximum points if they want to be involved in the knockout phase.

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Andrew Slevison
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Andrew Slevison

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