Aston Villa face Celtic in the Champions League on Wednesday night, and Unai Emery has named his starting line-up for the encounter.
Villa go into the clash knowing that we must win to give ourselves the best possible chance of securing a top-eight finish in the league stage, and thus an automatic spot in the knockout phase.
READ MORE: Villa turn down significant bid for talisman but one key exit possible
Results elsewhere will have to go our way too, but Emery and the players will undoubtedly be fully focused on doing our job.
Amid intense speculation ahead of kick-off over the futures of key individuals, the Villa boss has made just one change to the starting XI against West Ham Utd this past weekend, with Lamare Bogarde coming in for the injured Tyrone Mings.
It remains to be seen if the talented Dutch youngster starts at centre-half or if he slots into our midfield pivot with Boubacar Kamara dropping back to partner Ezri Konsa in the heart of our backline, but Emery will no doubt go with the option he feels is best against this specific opposition.
Elsewhere, it’s a familiar looking Villa line-up with balance, quality and energy right across the pitch, but we certainly have to step up our performance level compared to recent games to ensure we get the desired outcome.
It’s a young and inexperienced bench for the most part though which is a slight concern, but with John McGinn, Jhon Duran and Ian Maatsen available to come on and make an impact if required, it’s hoped that we have enough to get the job done as we await further activity in the transfer market for the rest of the week.
How we start tonight — UTV 👊#UCL || #AVLCEL pic.twitter.com/Hh80VFHqdw
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 29, 2025