Aston Villa hosts Celtic on Wednesday night in a UEFA Champions League match that is filled to the brim with next round qualification ramifications. Villa are just one point below the line to go though automatically, and bypass the playoff round. Meanwhile Celtic find themselves smack dab in the middle of that pack of teams, which will move on, but only to the playoff round.
And of course no matter where you sit, and what qualification segment you’re in, there is a battle for seeding, or course!
UEFA Champions League Matchday 8 of 8
Aston Villa vs Celtic
Kickoff: Wed. Jan. 29, 8pm, Villa Park, Birmingham, UK
Aston Villa Preview Material: Team News Starting XI Prediction
UCL Standings, Form: Aston Villa 9th, 13 pts, WLDWL Celtic 18th, 21 pts, DWDDW
So this clash should be a fiercely contested one, to say the least. Let’s take a look at what lineup Unai Emery might select here, in the hopes of getting the best setup possible for his side, once everything is in the books for matchday eight.
Aston Villa Starting XI Prediction vs Celtic
Emiliano Martinez; Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Ian Maatsen, Lucas Digne; Boubacar Kamara, Youri Tielemans; John McGinn, Morgan Rogers, Donyell Malen, Jhon Duran
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.