3 key Celtic questions for Brendan Rodgers as Aston Villa Champions League clash throws up dilemmas

There's no such thing as a meaningless Champions League game – especially when you chuck in the fact it’s a Battle of Britain to boot.

But Celtic go into their clash with Aston Villa tonight knowing their spot in the knockout stages is already guaranteed. And it’s now all about where they might finish in the new look table and who they could land in the play-off round. Villa won’t be lacking off as they need a victory to have a chance of making the top eight. Celtic could also sneak in there too with a win, but it would take a pretty miraculous set of results to go their way.

Away day wins in this competition have been rare for the Hoops over the years. And beating an English Premier side on their own turf would be a serious scalp for Brendan Rodgers. His record against Villa from his time as a boss down south is good; this will be his 20th encounter with the Birmingham club after taking them on in charge of Swansea, Liverpool and Leicester respectively. Of the 19 games to date, he's won nine, lost six and drawn four.

No 20 is certainly no dead rubber for Rodgers. There’s still plenty to play for – and plenty of questions around this tie.

This sounds daft, Celtic will want to win, right? Actually, not necessarily. In fact, there are some scenarios where a Hoops victory might not be the best outcome for Brendan Rodgers’ side.

The way the play-off stage is set up, Celts will have two options of opponents in Friday’s draw. And finishing higher up the table might not be the reward some folk might think. It all depends on the rest of the results, but Celtic could beat Villa and then end up facing Manchester City.

If they go down at Villa Park, there’s a decent chance they could run in to Feyenoord or Lille. A draw would be