Aston Villa hero believes Euro giants should fear their visit to Villa Park

Six-times winners Bayern and two-time champions Juve visit Villa in the tournament’s expanded group stage.

Villa, who are returning to Europe’s elite club competition for the first time in more than four decades under Unai Emery, will be underdogs in both ties.

But former captain Petrov believes Villa have the quality to cause a shock and thinks a raucous home crowd will give them a further advantage.

He told the Express & Star: “Bayern Munich and Juventus are big teams but playing at Villa Park is something they need to be aware of. It is a very intimidating place.

“It is a fortress and in Unai Emery, Villa have one of the best tactical managers in the world.

“The stadium is getting better, louder, more exciting. You can see the owners have invested a lot of money and the fans are together.

“That is what Villa is all about, they are striving off the pitch and on the pitch.

“I think all teams are aware of how good Villa are at the moment. They are playing with a different style, attacking football, young players with speed and technical ability.

“They have probably one of the best goalkeepers around in Emi Martinez. So I think people will be aware of what Villa can offer.”

The visit of Bayern on October 2 will be a repeat of the 1982 European Cup final which Villa won 1-0 and was the most eye-catching fixture in last Thursday’s draw. Juventus, meanwhile, were the Villa’s opponents in their most recent European Cup fixture, a 1983 quarter-final defeat. The Italian giants visit on November 27.

Yet for Petrov, it is the clash with Celtic on January 31 which is obviously cause for most excitement. The Bulgaria international played more than 300 matches for the 1967 European Cup winners before moving to Villa in 2006.

Petrov watched the draw with Villa supporters in a Birmingham city centre pub during a ticket giveaway organised by Champions League sponsor Bet365. He revealed his phone had not stopped ringing from the moment his former clubs were paired together.

“People from all over the world have already been in touch, asking for tickets,” he smiled. “It is two clubs with great history, a great fanbase and to meet in the Champions League it is great for the neutrals. I think it will be a great game.

“It is the one I was looking for, obviously. We all wanted that game and we got what we wished for.”

The visit of Celtic is on the final night of the group stage, where much could be at stake.

“They are two incredible clubs, two great fanbases, great players, two great managers,” continued Petrov. “Only football can win from matches like that.”

Villa will kick-off their Champions League campaign in Switzerland against Young Boys a fortnight today. The draw also handed them away trips to Club Brugge, RB Leipzig and Monaco, in addition to a home tie with Bologna. “It is incredible what has happened at Villa,” said Petrov, part of the team which recorded three consecutive sixth-placed Premier League finishes between 2008 and 2010 but missed out on Champions League qualification.

“Unai Emery has done such a good job. He stabilised the club and has given the players confidence, has put the club in the right direction.

“It feels like everything is in a good balance. They have a good manager, very ambitious owners. This is a really exciting time for Villa.”

n Stiliyan Petrov was speaking to Express & Star courtesy of bet365, as part of their global partnership with the Uefa Champions League.