Champions League Aston Villa v Celtic Wednesday January 29th kick off 8PM TNT sports

Villa will be gunning for the top 8 spot so if we turn up with an attitude that "we are through, lets just play our game and enjoy ourself and see where it takes us" - then I fear a morale sapping pasting.

Hope we approach this pragmatically and with the maximum effort.

 

Im English and have the joys of hearing the team I support plays in a pub league, week in, week out. I get your point but no way in * are we going there to have a jolly, get into the *. Dare I say like the huns did at at man ure..?

 

Unfortunately Villa are much better than Man Utd but, like yourself, I'd love to see us get tore into them and, who knows, we might just spring a surprise

 

Villa are not exactly great either. There a team that seem to dig in & get joy in counter attacks or set pieces but they have injuries to some key players. Also have been going through a slump in form. Should be nothing to fear.

 

This probably sums up the hypocrisy and ignorance i was aiming to highlight in my initial post.

 

So we can look crass and ignorant?? Ya, well done, pal.

 

Unfortunately I think Villa at home are well capable of mauling us and could do unless we make adjustments, tighten up and play to the best of our ability. Its going to be a big step up in pace and quality from what we generally face.

 

My brother (a born-and-bred Paddy) is a Villa fan and was a season-ticket holder for a few years, and tbf they don’t have that many of those kinds of morons - comparatively, at least. They’re more racially-mixed than a lot of English fanbases - which helps - and I don’t think they’ve anywhere near as many of the jingoistic, nationalistic Tans that other clubs in England do.

The media would only love to see Celtic fans blot their copybook here, so why give them the satisfaction? We can represent who we are, what we stand for and what our history is about without having to incite anyone else, surely? Leave that * to the scum.

 

Enlighten us, oh wise one!

 

Saying the old IRA were just lovely lads in fitted suits while the provos were just dirty terrorists is the type of hypocrisy that drives me mad as someone who grew up in Dublin, our violence was ok but yours wasn't, its nonsense, the North was abandoned.

I'm going to this & dont fancy getting my head smashed in the home end so will be undercover regardless.

 

Agreed. Collins was as ruthless and violent as anyone else, maybe more so, but the passing of time has glossed over that part.

 

It's a shot in the dark this one, but I think we have already done the hard work by qualifying for the play offs.
FWIW, I don't think Villa are all that they are cracked up to be, and we have players that can hurt them.

 

Hope we set up like Atalanta as we'll need to play that way in the playoff.

 

They’re defensively poor, even at their best, and they’re inconsistent in general. They’ll pose a big threat going forward though. Maybe we should play 3-5-2, as someone suggested earlier in the thread. Would be great to nick a point; can’t see us winning tbh.

 

If we want to be making a mark in Europe we should be taking points off the likes of Villa. Rodgers will have a point to prove and I'm confident he will have us set up similar away to Atalanta but with more efficiency in the forward areas. Also we always seem to raise our game versus English opposition.

 

We are facing them at the best time, they'll be under a lot of pressure and us absolutely none, and their form is utter rank. Draw won't be enough for them either, they need to win to get top 8

Only problem is us missing both Maeda and Kyogo, I can live with Idah up top as I think we'll need his physicality, but Yang on the wing is a nightmare.

 

I wonder if playing Kuhn on the left is an option, with Luke Mac on the right? Or Vallé on the left? No hope starting Yang.

 

I wouldn't be against 3-5-2 or maybe even 4-2-3-1, just to stifle the midfield, and support the backline.
I think Rodgers is more adaptable than Postecoglou, and is willing and able to change the favoured 4-3-3, when it is required.
A point would be marvellous.