Celtic boss makes Aston Villa claim after Champions League draw

Of course, all the talk over the past few days has been regarding the close of the summer transfer window and then the Glasgow Derby. Both were memorable for Celtic. We saw them make three signings on deadline day, bringing in club-record signing, Arne Engels, alongside Auston Trusty and Luke McCowan. And at the weekend, they defeated the Rangers by a 3-0 scoreline in front of the Parkhead fans.

It was certainly a week to remember for Celtic fans. Amidst all this, the Champions League draw went somewhat under the radar. At least when compared to other seasons.

This time, it is a new format. There is not the usual group stage format, with each fixture taking place home and away. Instead, Celtic will take on eight different opponents as they look to make it to the knockout phase of the competition.

One of those opponents will be Aston Villa. Celtic will make the trip down south to face Unai Emery's high-flying side, early next year. And Brendan Rodgers seems to be looking forward to the occasion already.

Celtic boss makes Aston Villa claim after Champions League draw

As reported by 67 Hail Hail, Rodgers said while speaking on talkSPORT:

"Villa Park, I’ve been there a number of times in the Premier League and it’s a wonderful, really traditional stadium with a beautiful pitch.

“Unai has done a great job there over the last couple of years, getting them qualification, and they look at a club that’s really well organized behind the scenes providing the manager with the tools to go and elevate the team.

“And now he’s done a great job there. So we’ll look forward to that. And obviously, we’ve got one of my former players there, and Youri Tielemans who’s a very good player. I look forward to seeing Youri when the game comes."

Rodgers has made the trip to Villa Park several times over the course of his career. After all, he spent years managing in the Premier League, for clubs like Liverpool and Leicester City. On most of those occasions, his team would have been the favourites going into the fixture. Not this time though. Not especially in the Champions League.

Of course, it will not be an easy fixture for Celtic. Aston Villa are one of the best teams in the Premier League right now and it would take quite some doing from Rodgers' side to get anything out of an away trip.