Preview: Bologna vs Aston Villa – prediction, team news, lineups

Meeting for the third time in two seasons, Aston Villa and Bologna will convene at Stadio Dall’Ara for the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday evening.

After losing twice in England, the Italian side are now aiming to extend a long streak without European defeat; meanwhile, Villa will seek an eighth straight win in UEFA’s second-tier tournament.

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Match preview

More than a fortnight since their last competitive fixture, Aston Villa can finally hit the home straight, resuming their quest to stay within the Premier League’s top five and lift the Europa League trophy.

The 1982 European champions are now set for a third continental quarter-final in as many seasons, after overcoming Lille in the last round with a 3-0 aggregate victory.

Over the past two campaigns, they also knocked Lille out in the 2023-24 Conference League quarters, then lost 5-4 to eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain in last season’s Champions League.

Despite slipping up in Deventer – where they suffered a shock league-phase loss to Go Ahead Eagles – Villa’s last-16 tie brought their ninth win from 10 Europa League matches this season, providing some respite from a sticky domestic spell.

Unai Emery’s men may yet need another route into next term’s Champions League, as taking just nine points from 10 league games saw them slip down the standings before a crucial home win over West Ham United.

Now occupying fourth place in England’s top flight, the Villans are locked in a multi-club tussle for a top-five finish, sitting five points above Liverpool and six clear of Chelsea.

However, before they get back to business in Bologna, Villa will have gone two-and-a-half weeks without a meaningful game since beating West Ham: international football intervened, then they sat out last week’s FA Cup action.

On the plus side, their Basque boss is an expert at negotiating the Europa League’s latter stages, having won it four times already – and Emery has prevailed in both tactical battles against Vincenzo Italiano.

Already familiar with the task ahead of them, Bologna have lost twice in Birmingham over the past 18 months – 2-0 in last term’s Champions League, then 1-0 earlier this season.

Still, the Rossoblu have since gone a club-record 11 European games without defeat, and that result at Villa Park represents their sole loss in 15.

Twice a Conference League runner-up with Fiorentina, Italiano will now lead his current team into their fifth UEFA quarter-final – but it will be Bologna’s first since eliminating Lyon in the 1998-99 UEFA Cup.

To get this far, the Emilian side conquered domestic rivals Roma over two legs, winning a dramatic last-16 tie 5-4 after extra time, having previously beaten SK Brann in the knockout playoffs.

So, after memorably claiming the Coppa Italia and competing in the Champions League last year, fans of the Felsinei can still dream of more glory.

Most of their eggs are now in one basket, as Italiano and co have crashed out of the cup and currently trail sixth-placed Roma by nine points in Serie A, so hopes of returning to continental competition surely rest on winning the Europa League.

That may seem a long shot, but Bologna have proven tough to beat so far, while three wins from their last four games – including Sunday’s 2-1 defeat of Cremonese – should boost confidence in the camp.

Bologna Europa League form:

D W W W D W

Bologna form (all competitions):

L D W W L W

Aston Villa Europa League form:

W W W W W W

Aston Villa form (all competitions):

L L W L W W

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Team News

Having been blessed with a rare break, Emery is expected to select his first-choice lineup on Thursday, when key man Youri Tielemans could start for the first time in several weeks.

Two of the Belgian’s midfield colleagues will be missing, however: Boubacar Kamara is still ruled out, while Ross Barkley is ineligible after being omitted from Aston Villa’s UEFA squad list.

On-loan winger Jason Sancho is also unavailable, having sustained a shoulder injury in last week’s friendly against Elche.

More positively, Villa’s Scottish skipper made a welcome return before the international break: including one strike in both previous games against Bologna, John McGinn has scored nine times in continental competition – he could now become the first Villan to hit double figures in Europe.

Meanwhile, McGinn’s Scotland teammate Lewis Ferguson has featured in all 12 of Bologna’s Europa League fixtures this term; experienced forward Federico Bernardeschi has registered five goals – including one in each leg against Roma.

English winger Jonathan Rowe should also pose a threat to the visitors’ defence, having been directly involved in five goals across his last six Europa League appearances – he also found the net on Sunday.

Although Italiano will be missing Martin Vitik through suspension, Spanish left-back Juan Miranda can play after serving a one-match UEFA ban at Stadio Olimpico.

It remains to be seen if Benjamin Dominguez, Charalampos Lykogiannis, Thijs Dallinga or Jens Odgaard will be ready, after all four missed Sunday’s trip to Cremona; first-choice goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski is still sidelined so Federico Ravaglia must continue to deputise.

Bologna possible starting lineup:

Ravaglia; Mario, Lucumi, Heggem, Miranda; Moro, Freuler, Ferguson; Bernardeschi, Castro, Rowe

Aston Villa possible starting lineup:

Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Onana, Tielemans; McGinn, Buendia, Rogers; Watkins

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We say: Bologna 1-1 Aston Villa 

Well-acquainted with their next opponents, Bologna have been unable to land a blow on Aston Villa across two recent meetings.

In Serie A, the hosts have earned 11 more points away from home than at the Dall’Ara, so Villa can at least leave Emilia-Romagna on level terms.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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