Aston Villa vs Celtic predicted lineups and team news | OneFootball

It will be a Battle of Britain in the final gameweek of the Champions League group stage when Aston Villa meet Celtic at Villa Park.

The game will be broadcast live on TNT Sports 1, kicking off at 8pm.

Aston Villa vs Celtic predicted lineups

Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Digne, Maatsen; Kamara, Tielemans; Bailey, Rogers, Ramsey; Watkins

Celtic (4-3-3): Schmeichel; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Trusty, Taylor; Engels, McGregor, Hatate; Kuhn, Idah, Furuhashi

Aston Villa vs Celtic team news

The hosts could be five men short when they welcome Celtic to Villa Park on Wednesday night. Their £20million January signing, Donyell Mallen, is first on the list of absentees.

The forward is ineligible to feature, with clubs not allowed to register new players until the end of the league phase.

Midfielders Ross Barkley and Amadou Onana are unavailable for Unai Emery’s side, with both players set to be sidelined until some time next month.

In Villa’s back line, Pau Torres suffered a serious foot injury last month and is expected to be out until early March. Meanwhile, Tyrone Mings was forced off in the first half during their draw with West Ham United on the weekend but insisted that his issue is not severe; his status is, however, unknown.

In the opposite dugout, Celtic have four players set to miss the affair, with one suspended.

Daizen Maeda saw red late on in Celtic’s last Champions League game against Young Boys. As well as their game against Villa, the Japanese forward will be unavailable for selection in Celtic’s next two knockout games.

Joining him is the injured James Forrest, Jota and Odin Holm, who are all set to make their returns in the next few weeks.

Battle of Britain

Celtic’s game against Leeds in the 1969-70 European Cup semi-final was the genesis of the term “Battle of Britain” in football, popularly used to describe all-British ties in European competitions.

Since then, Scottish teams have faced English teams 16 times in the Champions League (excluding qualifying rounds). The head-to-head record current sits and eight wins, five draws and three defeats in the favour of English sides.

Celtic were the last Scottish club to triumph over a side in the neighbouring country in the Champions League, beating Manchester United 1-0 in 2006-07.

They come into Wednesday night’s clash in imperious form, having lost just two of their last 47 games in all competitions.

Brendan Rogers’ side sit 18th in the table and have earned their spot in the knockout phase playoffs, still with a distant shot at notching direct qualification.

Meanwhile, Villa are recovering well after a pre-Christmas slump in November, which saw them go eight games without a win and slip away from the Premier League‘s top four.

Since then, Unai Emery’s side are back in the top four hunt in the Premier League and have also confirmed a spot in at least the Champions League knockout phase playoffs.

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