Stiliyan Petrov: Great opportunity for Villa to progress in Champions League

Stiliyan Petrov believes Aston Villa have a “great opportunity” to qualify for the Champions League knockout stages after finding out their league stage opponents.

Villa secured their spot at Europe’s top table for the first time since 1983 and are competing in the competition for the first time since the Champions League was formed.

Villa will face Bayern Munich at Villa Park in a repeat of their 1982 European Cup success as well as an all-British tie with Celtic and the visit of Italian giants Juventus.

The draw in Monte Carlo also paired the west midlands club with Bologna, alongside visits to Young Boys, Leipzig, Monaco and Club Brugge in the newly created league phase.

Back where we belong.

Our @ChampionsLeague fixtures are officially set! #ChampionsLeague || #UpTheVilla pic.twitter.com/8zvZjisXTT

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) August 29, 2024

Former Villa midfielder Petrov believes his old side have a realistic chance of progressing.

He told the PA news agency: “I can see them going through to the next stage.

“There are some big games, some more winnable games for Villa, so for me I am really excited what it’s going to bring for Villa this Champions League campaign because I think they have a great opportunity to go through.

“I think they can go through automatic qualification.

“It will be tough, there is a lot of big teams and winnable games for the big teams but I think Villa can sneak through and go through to the next round.”

Unai Emery has taken Villa to the next level since he replaced Steven Gerrard in October 2022.

The Villa boss is a real European specialist having won the Europa League four times during his managerial career, three times with Sevilla before taking Villarreal to success.

Petrov hailed