Champions League VIII: Aston Villa F.C.

Champions League VIII
Aston Villa F.C.
~~~~~~~~~~ Official TC Match Preview ~~~~~~~~~~


Kasper Schmeichel will be aiming to record a third straight Champions League clean sheet tomorrow


Villa Park, Birmingham
Wednesday 29 January 2025
20.00 GMT

The Champions League returns tomorrow evening, as the Celts travel down to England to take on Aston Villa in this final Group Stage fixture.

The Hoops are coming into this game on 12 points - just 1 behind Villa - and have the opportunity to leapfrog them with a victory. Indeed, it is reflective of how tight the Group Stage is, that single point the difference between the 2 sides, but 9 places seperate the sides in the overall table standings!

With the 1-0 win over Young Boys last week having secured Celtic's progress to the next phase already, this match really is all about jockeying for position and to finish as high up the table as possible, and potentially earn a better draw.

This is sure to be a fixture that will have a lot of attention upon it - these so called 'Battles of Britain' between Scottish and English clubs always do. But the Celts do hold a strong record in these fixtures, and will be once again looking to impress, as they take on an English side in a competitive fixture for the first time since 2016.​

1986: Murdo MacLeod in action against Aston Villa in a 1-0 Friendly win - the last time these sides met

Who are Aston Villa F.C.?

Founded in 1874, Aston Villa Football Club hold the rare distinction of being both a founding member of the English Football League in 1888 and the Premier League in 1992. It has not always been smooth sailing for the Birmingham based club, who have battled both up and down through the divisions over the years.

That said, Villa have also tasted their share of success, to be crowned the champions of the English top flight on 7 occasions and lifted the FA Cup 7 times also. But undoubtedly their biggest achievement was their 1982 European Cup triumph.

While this will be the first competitove meeting between these sides, Celtic and Villa have crossed paths 9 times over the years in friendlies, albeit primarily in the 1890's. In fact, this will be the first time since 1986, when Celtic emrged 1-0 victors.

This season, Villa got off to a tremendous start to this competition, winning their first 3 matches. However, they have won just 1 of their last 4 Champions League games since, most recently having been defeated by French Ligue 1 outfit, Monaco, 1-0, last week.




Scotland midfielder & Aston Villa captain John McGinn could be set to return from hamstring trouble

Facts & Stats​

• The Hoops are seeking a third straight Champions League Away clean sheet, after holding both Atalanta and Dinamo Zagreb scoreless.

• Celtic will be seeking a first Champions League Group Stage 'Away' win since the 3-0 'Away' success v Anderlecht in September 2017.

• The hosts have kept just 1 clean sheet in their past 11 games across all comps (8PL 2 CL 1FA).

• Aston Villa at home are at their most dangerous 15 minutes either side of the half time break. This has been when they've made the most difference in games.

Adam Idah in action against Young Boys. He will be called upon to step up more following Kyogo's exit

Team News

Aside from the continued absence of James Forrest (foot) and Odin Thiago Holm (calf), Brendan Rodgers has also ruled Cameron Carter-Vickers out as a precaution, while Daizen Maeda is also out, suspended for this match.

Additionally, returning hero, Jota is also unavailable, as the winger is not eligible for this match. He will, however, be available for the next phase of this competition, while there will need to be at least one other change to the starting XI, following the recent departure of Kyogo Furuhashi.

As for the hosts, John McGinn could return to the starting lineup after coming off the bench at the weekend, however Amadou Onana (hamstring) and Ross Barkley (calf) are set to miss out, and there is a significant question over the fitness of Tyrone Mings also, after the defender hobbled off in the first half at the weekend, but manager Unai Emre has not ruled him out as yet.​

Referee: Clément Turpin (FRA)

The 42 y.o Frenchman is undoubtedly one of the elite referees in world football and has a resume to match. With almost 300 Ligue 1 games since his debut in 2008 and more than 50 Champions League matches as well, Clement has officiated at the World Cup, the Euros and the Olympics etc, as well as having taken charge of both the 2021 Europa League and 2022 Champions League Finals.

VAR: Jérôme Brisard (FRA)



~~~~ Head to Head ~~~~

Overall
P:9* W:4 D:1 L:4
(*- All Friendlies)

v All English Opposition
P:20 W:7 D:7 L:6

~~~~ 2024/25 Form ~~~~ ​

Overall
W D W W W ~ D L D W W

Champions League
W D D W D ~ L W D L W​