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.

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

What's the best result?

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 a superb result on paper – but it could set them on a collision course with PSG or Juventus.

There are a million and one different permutations, so it might be best to have a go and worry about it later. Rodgers and Celtic will want to put up a fight against a top English outfit and it could also be a confidence builder ahead of the last 24 tie.

What's the Celtic team?

This is another tricky one for Rodgers. A full strength Celtic would still be up against it facing a Villa side that has a wage bill of north of £250m a year.

But they go in without injured Cameron Carter-Vickers and suspended Daizen Maeda. When you chuck in Kyogo’s departure, the Hoops will be without three of their main men.

It’s a big chance for Adam Idah up front and some might feel the striker hasn’t quite caught fire this season like he did on loan last term. He’ll lead the line though, but what about the wide areas.

Rodgers will have Nicolas Kuhn, but who gets the nod on the other flank, with James Forrest still out too. It could be Yang gets his chance, but the winger will drop back down the pecking order once returning hero Jota is up and running.

Rodgers could look to a slight change in formation and use Luke McCowan on the flank. He’s played there before from the bench and he might give Celts a more solid structure.

Cotton wool for AJ?

There’s also an issue for Celtic at right back. Alistair Johnston is one yellow card away from a suspension – which would rule him out of the play-off first leg. Bookings don’t get scrubbed until after the quarter-final stage so it could be a tightrope act.

Rodgers might be tempted to keep the Canadian on ice and send Anthony Ralston out instead. It could be a neat side story, with Ralston up against Unai Emery again, having been famously handed a marking job on Neymar when the Spaniard was PSG boss a few years ago.

It’s a difficult one as Johnston has been a superb performer for Celtic in the Champions League and he’d also be desperate to get the opportunity to square up with one of the top teams from England. But it could be a bigger picture decision. There's certainly a lot for Rodgers to ponder.