There is a battle of Britain in the Champions League on Wednesday evening as Aston Villa host Celtic in the finale of the league phase.

Both sides have already secured their place in the knockout phase of the competition, but neither are guaranteed to earn direct passage to the last 16. The Villans are well placed to finish in the top eight with victory on Wednesday, while Celtic will need to win and hope results go their way elsewhere on the continent.

It’s the first meeting between two British clubs in this season’s Champions League – although we have seen Rangers face Manchester United and Tottenham in the Europa League – and it’s also the first time that these former European Cup winners will lock horns in a competitive fixture.

Here is 90min’s guide to Villa vs Celtic.

Aston Villa vs Celtic head-to-head record

This is the first competitive fixture between Aston Villa and Celtic.

Current form (all competitions)

Tyrone Mings added his name to a growing injury list at the weekend after he was withdrawn during the first half of the meeting with West Ham United. Pau Torres is also on the sidelines at centre-back, while Diego Carlos’ January exit means Ezri Konsa is the only senior option in the role. Lucas Digne is likely to fill in on Wednesday.

Amadou Onana and Ross Barkley are both missing in midfield through injury but Villa did see John McGinn return to the fold on Sunday. The midfielder is unlikely to start midweek but will most probably feature in some capacity against a club he faced on 16 occasions during his time in Scotland.

January recruits Donyell Malen and Andres Garcia are ineligible to feature until the knockout phase.

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

Celtic have seen star forward Kyogo Furuhashi complete his move to French side Rennes, finishing his Bhoys career with 86 goals in 167 matches. Jota has gone in the other direction following his short spell in France, returning to Glasgow after leaving the Hoops in 2023. The Portuguese is ineligible to feature on Wednesday.

James Forrest is still missing through a foot injury and Daizen Maeda is suspended for the trip to Villa Park after his late red card in the 1-0 win over Young Boys last week.

Celtic predicted lineup vs Aston Villa (4-3-3): Schmeichel; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Trusty, Taylor; Engels, McGregor, Hatate; Kuhn, Idah, Palma.

Villa fell flat in their uninspiring defeat to Monaco last week but should be reinvigorated by a home crowd and the prospect of avoiding the play-offs with automatic qualification for the last 16.

Injuries in defence may cause a little chaos in the Villa backline and Celtic will be keen to take advantage, albeit they are without the recently departed Furuhashi and suspended Maeda.

Villa were far from their best during their weekend draw with West Ham but should return to winning ways on Wednesday, even if it isn’t entirely convincing.

Prediction: Aston Villa 2-1 Celtic

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