Aston Villa vs Celtic: Match Preview, Predictions & Lineups

Fixture: Aston Villa vs Celtic

Date: Wednesday, 29 January 2025

Kick-off Time: 20:00 CET

Venue: Villa Park, Birmingham

Competition: UEFA Champions League, Matchday 8

Aston Villa and Celtic conclude their UEFA Champions League league phase campaigns with a high-stakes clash at Villa Park. Both teams have already secured a spot in the knockout phase, but this game could determine their final seeding. With Celtic on 12 points and Villa on 13, the outcome could play a significant role in their paths going forward. This will be the first-ever competitive meeting between the two sides.

• Record vs Scottish Clubs: 2 Wins, 0 Draws, 0 Losses
• Home Record vs Scottish Clubs: 1 Win, 0 Draws, 0 Losses
• Last Match vs Scottish Clubs: Aston Villa 3-0 Hibernian (August 31, 2023, UEFA Conference League)
  

• Record vs English Clubs: 7 Wins, 7 Draws, 6 Losses
• Away Record vs English Clubs: 3 Wins, 3 Draws, 4 Losses
• Last Match vs English Clubs: Manchester City 1-1 Celtic (December 6, 2016, UEFA Champions League)
  

• Last 5 Matches (All Competitions): D-L-D-W-W
• Most Recent Champions League Result: Monaco 1-0 Aston Villa (UCL Matchday 7)
• Key Stat: Villa are unbeaten in their last 10 home European matches (W8, D2), with significant victories over Bayern Munich (1-0) and Bologna (2-0) during this campaign.
  

• Last 5 Matches (All Competitions): W-W-W-D-W-W
• Most Recent Champions League Result: Celtic 1-0 Young Boys (UCL Matchday 7)
• Key Stat: Celtic have only one win in their last 14 away European games, with 10 losses in that poor run. However, they have drawn twice on the road in this campaign (Atalanta, GNK Dinamo).
  

Formation: Likely 4-2-3-1 under Unai Emery.

Key Players:

• Ollie Watkins: Villa’s primary striker, though he is yet to score in this UCL campaign, his movement and work rate remain pivotal.
• Youri Tielemans: The Belgian international has produced two assists in this Champions League campaign and will be eager to continue his decent form.
• Emiliano Martínez: The Argentine goalkeeper has been in excellent form, making 31 saves in the competition so far.

Suspensions/Injuries:

• Lucas Digne (Misses next match if booked)
• Boubacar Kamara (Misses next match if booked)
• Jhon Durán (Misses next match if booked)
• Pau Torres (Ruled out through a foot injury)
• Ross Barkley (Ruled out through a calf injury)
• John McGinn (Doubtful through a hamstring injury)
  

Formation: Likely 4-3-3 under Brendan Rodgers.

Key Players:

• Arne Engels: The Belgian midfielder has been in excellent form in the Champions League, having scored three goals in the competition.
• Nicolas Kuhn: The right-winger has been in good form for the Hoops this season, having scored twice in the Champions League.
• Kasper Schmeichel: The veteran goalkeeper was instrumental in the win over Young Boys, producing crucial saves to preserve the clean sheet.

Suspensions/Injuries:

• Daizen Maeda (Suspended)
• Alistair Johnston (Misses next match if booked)
  

Villa will look to dominate possession and use the creativity of Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers in midfield to feed Ollie Watkins up front. At home, Villa have been defensively solid, and their full-backs—Matty Cash and Lucas Digne—are key in supporting wide attacks. Unai Emery’s side will also rely on set pieces, where Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa can pose significant aerial threats.

Celtic will likely employ a high-energy pressing system to disrupt Villa’s buildup play. Reo Hatate and Callum McGregor are expected to control the tempo in midfield, while Nicolas Kühn and Luis Palma will look to exploit spaces in wide areas. Defensively, Brendan Rodgers will hope for discipline from his backline, with Auston Trusty and Cameron Carter-Vickers forming the core.

Aston Villa 2-1 Celtic

Aston Villa’s strong home form and Celtic’s poor away record in Europe suggest that Villa could edge this encounter, but Celtic’s attacking potential might ensure a closely fought match.

Aston Villa are one of only a few clubs to have maintained a perfect record against Scottish teams, winning both their previous encounters without conceding a goal.

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All odds and markets are correct as of the date of publication.