Champions League fixtures reaction
A quick look at Villa's Champions League group stage opponents
After a long wait since securing qualification, we finally have the fixtures for the Champions League group phase. The highlights are Bayern Munich and Juventus at home alongside a mouthwatering all-British affair with the visit of Celtic. Trips to Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, and the principality of Monaco will give the Villa travelling faithful some entertaining trips to look forward to.
Fixtures are:
Young Boys (Away - 17 September - KO: 17:45)
Bayern Munich (Home - 2 October - KO: 20:00)
Bologna (Home - 22 October - KO: 20:00)
Club Brugge (Away - 6 November - KO: 17:45)
Juventus (Home - 27 November - KO: 20:00)
RB Leipzig (Away - 10 December - KO: 20:00)
Monaco (Away - 21 January - KO: 17:45)
Celtic (Home - 29 January - KO: 20:00)
The initial reaction is that the draw is pretty kind to Villa and there are some very winnable games. Perhaps finishing in the top eight, and automatic qualification to the last 16, is a stretch. However, the play-off round should be easily achievable for Villa. It seems that Opta is in agreement as their graph, based on their power rankings for each team, stating that “Champions League debutants Aston Villa have been given about as good a draw as they could have possibly hoped for”.
Credit: Opta (https://theanalyst.com/2024/08/champions-league-2024-25-fixture-difficulty-group-stage)
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BSC Young Boys
Swiss Super League
League Placing and Form: 12th (bottom) W0 D3 L3
Best Euro performance: European Cup SF 1958/59
Five year European football form:
2020/21 - UEL R16
2021/22 - UCL grp stage
2022/23 - UECL play-off round
2023/24 - UCL grp stage
2024/25 - UCL Q via play-off (Galatasaray 3-2H 1-0A)
Manager: Patrick Rahmen
Villa connection: no mutual players, but Jimmy Hogan managed both clubs (1918-20 for Young Boys and 1936-39 for Villa)
Bayern Munich
Bundesliga
League Placing and Form: 2nd W2 D0 L0
Best Euro performance: European Cup / Champions League winners 1973/74, 1974/75, 1975/76, 2000/01, 2012/13, 2019/20
Five year European football form:
2020/21 - UCL QF
2021/22 - UCL QF
2022/23 - UCL QF
2023/24 - UCL SF
2024/25 - UCL Q (3rd in Bundesliga)
Coach: Vincent Kompany
Villa connection: as well as “that game”, we share Pepe Reina and Philippe Coutinho
Bologna
Serie A
League Placing and Form: 18th W0 D2 L1
Best Euro performance: UEFA Cup QF 1990/91
Five year European football form:
2020/21 - DNQ
2021/22 - DNQ
2022/23 - DNQ
2023/24 - DNQ
2024/25 - UCL Q (5th in Serie A)
Coach: Vincenzo Italiano
Villa connection: Samuel Iling-Junior is on loan at Bologna but also José Ángel Crespo (one game for Villa) has represented the teams competitively
Club Brugge KV
Belgian Pro League
League Placing and Form: 3rd W3 D1 L2
Best Euro performance: European Cup runners up 1977/78
Five year European football form:
2020/21 - UCL grp stage
2021/22 - UCL grp stage
2022/23 - UCL R16
2023/24 - UECL SF
2024/25 - UCL Q (won Champions' play-offs)
Manager: Nicky Hayen
Villa connection: four players in common with Wesley, Marvelous Nakamba, Boško Balaban, and Björn Engels all playing for both clubs
Juventus
Serie A
League Placing and Form: 2nd W2 D1 L0
Best Euro performance: European Cup winners 1984/85, 1995/96
Five year European football form:
2020/21 - UCL R16
2021/22 - UCL R16
2022/23 - UCL grp stage, UEL SF
2023/24 - DNQ
2024/25 - UCL Q (3rd in Serie A)
Coach: Thiago Motta
Villa connection: Olof Mellberg and David Platt have represented both as well as the recent transfer of Douglas Luiz
RB Leipzig
Bundesliga
League Placing and Form: 3rd W2 D0 L0
Best Euro performance: Champions League SF 2019/20
Five year European football form:
2020/21 - UCL R16
2021/22 - UCL grp stage, UEL SF
2022/23 - UCL R16
2023/24 - UCL R16
2024/25 - UCL Q (4th in Bundesliga)
Coach: Marco Rose
Villa connection: apart from RB Leipzig beating Villa in pre-season match in New York, Ørjan Nyland has represented both clubs
AS Monaco
Ligue 1
League Placing and Form: 4th W2 D1 L0
Best Euro performance: Champions League runners up 2003/04
Five year European football form:
2020/21 - DNQ
2021/22 - UCL play-off round, UEL R16
2022/23 - UCL 3rd qr, UEL knockout rd play-offs
2023/24 - DNQ
2024/25 - UCL Q (2nd in Ligue 1)
Coach: Adi Hütter
Villa connection: Youri Tielemans has played for both clubs
Celtic
SPL
League Placing and Form: 1st W4 D0 L0
Best Euro performance: European Cup winners 1966/67
Five year European football form:
2020/21 - UCL 2nd QR, UEL grp stage
2021/22 - UCL 2nd QR, UEL grp stage
2022/23 - UCL grp stage
2023/24 - UCL grp stage
2024/25 - UCL Q (1st in SPL)
Manager: Brendan Rogers
Villa connection: at least 14 players have played for both; three managers in common with Billy McNeill, Martin O'Neill, and Jozef Vengloš