From Celtic to Real Madrid. Barcelona to AC Milan. And Bayern Munich to Juventus.
There are many possible dream Champions League match-ups for Aston Villa to look forward to next season after they cemented fourth spot in the Premier League.
Captain John McGinn, who could have joined Celtic before moving to Aston Villa and pretty much played in Europe’s elite competition straight away, will be leading the team out next season.
The boyhood Celtic fan moved to Villa in 2018 when they were in the Championship, in a spot of bother and needing lifting.
Fast forward to the present and he is now a key player for a team on the rise, largely thanks to the brilliance of Unai Emery.
As you can imagine, all of this has got the fans excited, including a former striker – Stan Collymore.
The ex-Aston Villa man didn’t hesitate to name the dream games he would like to see his boyhood club play next season in the Champions League and one of them included a match-up with Celtic.
Brendan Rodgers’ side clinched another Scottish Premiership title to further enhance their status as Scotland’s biggest club and Collymore would like to see the two lock horns next season, as he posted on Twitter.
He also put forward Bayern Munich – they are currently led by Harry Kane, but you would imagine this is more because Villa beat the German giants in 1982 to win Europe’s biggest-ever crown.
Aston Villa v Celtic and Bayern Munich in the Champions League
“Only two fixtures I’d like next season, the rest are a bonus wherever we play,” said Collymore.
“Aston Villa v Celtic. Aston Villa v Bayern Munich. Pinch me.”
Champions League players
It’s going to be interesting to see the road Villa go down in the transfer market because you feel those Champions League-quality players will be needed.
Of course, FFP will come into play, or else, Villa would just spend crazily to stay where they are.
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But if Emery and Monchi can continue from their summer success of the last window, then there is no reason why the team cannot progress again.
Of course, Villa will now be a target of many and they will have to deal with no longer being the underdogs. Something they have struggled with this season.
But all of this is part of the character-building culture at the club.
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