Aston Villa v Celtic: Predicted XI with big roles for Yang and Scales | OneFootball

Celtic face Aston Villa in Birmingham this afternoon as Brendan Rodgers’ side look to close out the new-look league phase with a result against Unai Emery’s side. However, Celtic go into the game with a number of absences from last weekend.

Kasper Schmeichel starts in goals. The Celtic No.1 has experienced Villa Park many times and will be relishing the return to a Premier League ground.

Brendan will be without Cameron Carter-Vickers in defence after the manager confirmed the USA Internationalist had picked up a knock during the win over BSC Young Boys. This will likely mean that Liam Scakes will come into the team to partner Auston Trusty.

Callum McGregor will captain the side in the middle of the park and will likely be accompanied by Reo Hatate and Arne Engels in the middle of the park. Paulo Bernardo is another contender to start in the middle but Brendan will want to set up his team to be rigid in defence and aggressive in attack.

There will be no Kyogo from the side that won last week. The Japanese striker completed a £10m switch to Rennes during the week as Celtic confirmed the re-signing of Jota. Unfortunately, the 25-year-old will be unable to make his second debut as he is not registered in Celtic’s UCL squad.

Daizen Maeda is suspended for the game after his late red card last weekend. The attacker’s absence will mean that Adam Idah starts through the middle. Yang will likely come into the team to play in the wide areas.

The team looks fairly light given the injuries and absences. The club will be keen to strengthen in the coming days before the window shuts.

Predicted XI: Schmeichel; Taylor, Trusty, Scales, Johnston; McGregor, Hatate, Bernardo; Kühn, Idah, Yang