Celtic are preparing to face Aston Villa in the final Champions League group stage fixture tonight.
Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has the chance to claim a seeded playoff place with a positive result at Villa Park but the Bhoys could also secure a Champions League top-eight finish if results in other games go Rodgers’ way.
Celtic currently sits in 18th place in the UEFA table on 12 points, level with Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Juventus and Borussia Dortmund after the Hoops beat Young Boys last week.
With Villa in 9th, John McGinn will be hoping his team can secure that coveted automatic qualification place with a win so both permutations tee up what could be a classic match tonight.
The draw created excitement with Celtic to face English opposition once again in Europe, but what did McGinn and his Villa teammates think of drawing his boyhood club in the Champions League when both teams were pulled out together?
John McGinn’s immediate reaction when Aston Villa drew Celtic in the Champions League
McGinn told PLZ Soccer, “I’m absolutely delighted that it’s January, so I had that two days with my phone off so when I found out it was the last game I was like, ‘Right. I’ll deal with that after Christmas’.
“But I actually wasn’t watching the draw because I knew it was a one-four-chance [of drawing Celtic] so just as soon as I heard my phone buzzing, I thought, ‘Aw no’.
“So I knew. All my pals, all my family, I’m sure who they’ll be wanting Celtic to win, but it’s something I’ve dealt with in the past with St Mirren and Hibs but I’ve got a job to do for Villa and it’s an exciting game for everyone.”
What Aston Villa’s players told John McGinn about playing Celtic in the Champions League
“I think it’s a bit strange,” continued McGinn, “I think the lads wanted to play at Celtic Park because I’ve rapped on about European nights there so many times.
“But just for us, the buzz, with just really being in the draw, it’s the first time for Aston Villa for a long time. So some mouth-watering ties for us, Bayern Munich and Juventus at home, obviously, for Aston Villa to play Bayern Munich, the team they beat to win the European Cup has certainly got everyone buzzing down the road.
“So that’s probably taken a bit of the shine off the Celtic fixture, in that sense. So I’ve managed to kind of avoid the lads questions about the game, but certainly, a few of them have mentioned it to me and they were wishing the game was the other way.”
Celtic are without Cameron Carter-Vickers and Daizen Maeda after the defender felt a tweak in training and the Japanese star’s red card vs Young Boys.
The Hoops are also without Kyogo Furuhashi who left Celtic for Rennes this week so Rodgers has a selection dilemma on his hands.
The Celtic fans will travel in their thousands to Birmingham hoping to see their team create another piece of European history.
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