Aston Villa and Celtic will lock horns in a mouthwatering Champions League tie in January.
There has been a change to the Champions League format, which means teams will be playing eight games, rather than six, and they will only play that side once.
When Villa were drawn up against Celtic, it certainly spiced things up and made things very exciting for all given that this will be the first time the former European Cup winners will ever meet.
Brendan Rodgers has faced Aston Villa – and Unai Emery – many times before and he is very much looking forward to this fixture.
The Celtic boss, who is dominating in Scotland once again, hailed the ‘great job’ Emery has done since he replaced Steven Gerrard in the dugout.
The Midlands side were hovering above the Premier League’s relegation zone under the former Rangers boss, before being transformed by the Spaniard.
Villa are a Champions League club and it’s these games against Celtic that get you excited, with Rodgers also keen to re-unite with one of his former players.
The Irishman managed Youri Tielemans at Leicester City – he scored the winner in the FA Cup final against Chelsea – and he labelled the midfielder as a ‘very good’ player, as he told talkSPORT.
Rodgers also lauded Villa Park as a ground and the old-school traditional nature to it all.
Unai Emery v Brendan Rodgers in the Champions League
“End of January that would be,” said Rodgers about the Villa tie. “Villa Park, I have been a number of times in the Premier League and it’s a wonderful really traditional stadium, with a beautiful pitch.
“Unai (Emery) has done a great job there over the last couple of years. Getting them qualification (into the Champions League) and they look like a club that’s really well-organised behind the scenes. Providing the manager with the tools to go and elevate the team. He has done a great job there. We will look forward to that.
“We have got one of my former players there in Youri Tielemans, who is a very good player, so I am looking forward to seeing Youri when the game comes.”
Youri Tielemans an outstanding purchase for Aston Villa
Tielemans joined Villa on a free transfer from then-relegated Leicester and he has proven to be a key player under Emery.
As midfielders left, right and centre are sold for £100 million. This free transfer was one of the best pieces of business the club has concluded under Emery.
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Villa beat Leicester on Saturday and Tielemans was one of the best players on the park against his former club.
Now, he will be looking forward to transcending those performances onto the European stage because he is going to be very important to the team.
