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Aston Villa vs. Celtic: Preview, team news, prediction for Champions League match
A pair of teams that have already secured advancement into the Champions League knockout stages meet on Wednesday as Aston Villa host Celtic on the final matchday of the league phase.
Aston Villa are ninth in the standings and could move into automatic qualification for the round of 16 with a victory. Bypassing the knockout round play-offs would be a boon for a side that may not boast the squad depth of some of the bigger sides in the competition.
Meanwhile, Celtic will also play on past Wednesday's match, and they could also skip past the play-offs with a victory and some help from other teams. In 18th place, the Scottish side would need a lot to go right in order to qualify directly for the last 16.
- Read next | Champions League permutations: How Liverpool, Arsenal, Aston Villa, Manchester City and Celtic can advance
Aston Villa vs. Celtic: Head-to-head and recent statistics
- All-time meetings: 0
- Aston Villa wins: 0
- Draws: 0
- Celtic wins: 0
This will be the first meeting between these sides.
Aston Villa vs. Celtic: Team news
Aston Villa
- Injured: Mings, Torres, Barkley, Onana
- Suspended: None
Celtic
- Injured: Holm
- Suspended: Maeda
Aston Villa vs. Celtic: What the managers are saying
Unai Emery, Aston Villa
(via AVFC.com)
“[Wednesday] is a very good opportunity here against Celtic. I know it’s a special match for our supporters. It’s fantastic to play Champions League matches, it’s fantastic to play against Celtic.
“I have played against them in Champions League before with other clubs and their supporters are going to bring an atmosphere in Villa Park. It’s very good to enjoy football like that, deep football.”
Brendan Rodgers, Celtic
(via CelticFC.com)
“For us, it’s a great achievement to be in the top 24. I think if you look at the economics of it all and at this level, the players have been fantastic.
“But our job’s not complete in this series of eight games. We come here to a great venue against a fantastic team, but we want to come and play to the level that we know we can do. So we’re really looking forward to it."
Aston Villa vs. Celtic: Prediction
Villa at home will be a tall task for Celtic, and it might end up being too much to ask.
Prediction: Aston Villa 2-0 Celtic
