Aston Villa vs Celtic Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

Despite their recent run of three games without a win, Aston Villa enter this game as favourites due to having more quality in their squad than their opponents, Celtic.

Unai Emery’s men know that a victory here would likely see them sneak into the top eight of the competition, meaning that there is plenty on the line for the Villains. Despite their recent dip in form, Villa did earn an impressive 2-2 draw away at Arsenal after wins over Everton and West Ham, showing that they still have a good attacking threat, one that we believe a Celtic side will struggle to deal with.

Brendan Rodgers’ men have managed just one clean sheet in their last four matches and have struggled to make an impact away from Celtic Park in the Champions League, as prior to 0-0 draws at Dinamo Zagreb and Atalanta, they suffered a humiliating 7-1 defeat at Borussia Dortmund.

Prediction: Aston Villa 3-1 Celtic

Ninth-place Aston Villa hosts 18th-place Celtic in what could be a feisty Champions League encounter at Villa Park.

Date: 29/01/2025

Location: Celtic Park

Time: 8pm

Aston Villa will be looking to finish off their Champions League Group Stage campaign in style with a home win over a Celtic, with Unai Emery’s side looking to reach the Round of 16 via a top eight finish in this season’s competition.

The Villains had an impressive start to their first-ever Champions League campaign as they won all of their first three matches against BSC Young Boys (3-0), Bayern Munich (1-0) and Bologna (2-0), but, have since suffered disappointing 1-0 defeats away to Club Brugge and AS Monaco on either side of a 0-0 home draw against Juventus and a dramatic 3-2 win at RB Leipzig where Ross Barkley scored an 85th-minute winner.

As far as their Premier League season goes, Villa have had a mixed bag of results, as they sit eighth in the table with 37 points from 23 matches, four points adrift of the Champions League qualification places. Emery’s side managed to win four of their first five league matches, but, since then, have won just six of their last 18 games.

Typically, Celtic are the dominant force in the Scottish Premiership, as the Hoops are 10 points clear of Rangers with a game in hand having racked up 60 points from 23 matches. Celtic have managed to win 19, draw three of those 23 league fixtures thus far, while firing in an impressive 64 goals, with Kyogo Furuhashi being their top scorer in the Scottish Premiership with 10 goals to his name.

In the Champions League, Celtic have had a successful campaign, as they have already booked their place in the Round of 32 play-off, as they sit on 12 points from seven matches, four clear of the likes of Manchester City in 25th-place.

However, the Hoops have had an achilleas heal in this competition, their away form. So far, Celtic have drawn 0-0 with both Dinamo Zagreb and Atalanta after their humiliating 7-1 loss at Borussia Dortmund on matchday two. At Celtic Park, Brendan Rodgers’ side have earned 10 points from four matches, having beaten Slovan Bratislava (5-1), RB Leipzig (3-1) and Young Boys (1-0) while drawing 1-1 with Club Brugge.

Aston Villa versus Celtic will be broadcast live to subscribers of TNT Sports 1 and Discovery Plus.

Aston Villa

Unai Emery will likely be without the likes of Tyrone Mings, Pau Torres, Ross Barkley and Amadou Onana due to injury.

Predicted line-up: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Digne, Maatsen, Tielemans, Kamara, Bailey, Rogers, Ramsey, Watkins.

Celtic

Both Odin Thiago Holm and James Forrest are set to miss Celtic’s trip to Villa Park due to injury issues. Meanwhile, Daizen Maeda is suspended following his red card against Young Boys.

Predicted line-up: Schmeichel, Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Trusty, Taylor, Engels, McGregor, Hatate, Kuhn, Furuhashi, Idah.

Aston Villa

Entering this game, Aston Villa are on a three-game winless run, having laboured to a 1-1 draw last time out after a 1-0 defeat in AS Monaco where Wilfried Singo scored the only goal of the game. In the run-up to these results, the Villains earned a solid 2-2 draw at Arsenal, as second half goals from Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins levelled the game up after goals by Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz on either side of half time had given the Gunners a 2-0 lead.

Villa’s last win came on 15th January as they beat Everton 1-0 in what was David Moyes’ first game back at Goodison Park, while just before that match, Unai Emery’s men defeated West Ham United 2-1 in the FA Cup as Amadou Onana and Morgan Rogers scored late on to see them progress to the Fourth Round of that competition.

Celtic

Celtic are unbeaten in their last five matches across all competitions, as the Hoops recently managed to beat Young Boys via a 1-0 scoreline on matchday seven of the Champions League to confirm their place in the competition’s Round of 32 play-off.

On top of this, Celtic progressed past Kilmarnock (2-1) in the Fourth Round of the Scottish Cup thanks to goals by Callum McGregor and Daizen Maeda on either side of half time. In terms of league form, Brendan Rodgers’ men managed vital victories over Dundee United (2-0) and Ross County (4-1) in the run-up to a 3-3 draw with Dundee.

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