Celtic’s Matchday 8 opponents, Aston Villa, were in action earlier tonight, falling 1-0 to Monaco in Monaco, meaning the Villains are now not guaranteed a last-16 place after tonight.
With Villa now on 13 points after 7 games played, they currently sit 10th in the Champions League table. Unai Emery’s side had won their first 3 games in Europe without conceding, but their form has slipped since, with defeats against Club Brugge and now Monaco, meaning they have everything to play for next Wednesday at Villa Park.
Villa had their sights set on a place in the top 8, which would see them miss the knockout playoffs and guarantee a place in the last 16. However, that is now in doubt, meaning they will certainly field a full-strength side in 8 days’ time against Celtic.
The hope was that Celtic would come up against a Unai Emery side already qualified for the last 16; however, that hasn’t materialized, making the need for the Hoops to win tomorrow night even more crucial.
It also means that if Celtic were to win tomorrow night against Young Boys, they would be just a point behind the Villains before next week’s game, giving the Hoops an outside chance of finishing above the English Premier League side.
However, tonight’s result will certainly come as a shock, given the impressive start they had, beating Bayern Munich at home on Matchday 2 and RB Leipzig away from home.
