As widely welcomed as UEFA’s new-look Champions League has been, the one enduring criticism of it is a lack of jeopardy.
Ahead of Wednesday’s meeting in the Midlands, Aston Villa and Celtic are both already assured of a place in the play-off round.
While a win for either side could yet propel them into the top eight and see them advance straight to the last 16, coming up just short would hardly be tantamount to disaster.
But a sense of danger will be the only thing likely to be absent from a seismic tussle between two heavyweight former European champions.