An exciting trip to England awaits Celtic in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Celtic have booked their play-off ticket and now they have an outside chance of securing a top-eight finish, although, even a big win at Villa Park might not do the trick.
This will be Celtic and Aston Villa’s first-ever meeting, but it won’t be the first time Brendan Rodgers and Unai Emery have locked horns.
Either way, it is going to be a spectacle and there is a lot of pressure on Villa heading into this game because of how things are panning out in the Premier League.
Yes, for Celtic, there is always pressure on the team to produce, but the Bhoys are sitting top of the table in the Premiership and have a healthy lead as they head towards another title.
The same can’t be said for their next opponents because Villa dropped points again at the weekend when they drew 1-1 with West Ham United.
Jamie Carragher questions Aston Villa’s ‘mentality’ ahead of Celtic showdown
This is the first time Villa have been in Europe’s elite competition for decades and many of the players, such as captain John McGinn, are still getting used to playing three times a week.
Emery’s side have only won once post a Champions League match and it is affecting their chances of finishing in the top four again – the Midlands side are eighth in the Premier League table, four points off fourth-placed Manchester City.
Jamie Carragher fired a warning shot to the club and how it’s ‘crunch time’ ahead of Celtic’s visit, including how they need to win the match to avoid playing the play-off rounds, as he told Sky Sports Football (26/01/25 at 7:20 pm).
The former Liverpool defender also highlighted Emery’s actions when he questioned his team’s ‘mentality’ by pointing to his head after they lost to Monaco.
“It does (feel like a crunch time for Villa’s season),” said Carragher. “I think if you think of Newcastle as well, when they got into the Champions League and what happened the season after, it’s not easy with these clubs. Once you get in, it doesn’t mean you are going to get in automatically the next season.
“The Celtic game is absolutely vital to make sure they don’t have to play those two games because he (Lee Hendrie) is talking about fatigue there (for the Villa players). We spoke about it beforehand, the first thing we naturally talk about is, fatigue. Playing more games.
But I was at a club where we were in Europe most seasons. We got used to playing that. I don’t automatically think the teams at the top are fitter than Aston Villa’s players. They are all Premier League players. I always felt it was a mentality thing, certainly when players came into the club I was at and they weren’t used to playing twice a week.
“Also, the come down from a Champions League game. I was watching that game (against West Ham) at 1-0, thinking Villa need to win 1-0 here. Disappointment from Monaco and then playing a decent West Ham team. You get over the line. They couldn’t. I think it’s a mentality thing. When you think of what Unai Emery did in the press conference after Monaco and tapping his head. That’s lacking and difficult to get.”
What Unai Emery said about Celtic and the supporters
There will be thousands upon thousands of Celtic fans travelling down to Birmingham for the game, and many of them won’t even have tickets.
But, as per, the Celtic fans will make the club proud and they will sing, loud and proud, from the stands as the Bhoys hope to pull off a win.
Ahead of the match, Emery spoke about the Celtic faithful and how he is looking forward to the match that is ‘special’ for everyone involved, as he told his pre-match press conference.
“I know some special match and rival match (England and Scotland) for our supporters as well,” said Emery.
“But it’s fantastic to play Champions League matches. It’s fantastic to play against a team like Celtic. I played before in the Champions League against them with another club (PSG).
“Always, the atmosphere (at Celtic Park), of course, on Wednesday night it’s at Villa Park, but there will also be supporters of Celtic here. It’s very good to enjoy football like that. Very deep football.”
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