It has become a regular fixture of sorts in recent seasons as Aston Villa looks to progress through in Europe as they prepare to face Bologna in the Europa League
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery(Image: (Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images))
Meeting for the third time in two seasons, Aston Villa travel to Stadio Dall’Ara to face Bologna on Thursday evening in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final. After suffering two defeats in England, the Italian side will look to protect an impressive unbeaten run in Europe, while Villa arrive aiming to make it eight straight wins in UEFA’s second-tier competition.
More than a fortnight after their last competitive outing, Villa return to action for the run-in, balancing a push to remain in the Premier League’s top five with a bid to win the Europa League.
The 1982 European Cup winners are into a third consecutive continental quarter-final, having brushed aside Lille 3-0 on aggregate in the previous round. Across the last two campaigns they also eliminated Lille in the 2023-24 Conference League last eight, before losing 5-4 to eventual Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain at the same stage last season.
Although a surprise league-phase defeat at Go Ahead Eagles in Deventer dented their European record, the last-16 success still meant nine wins from 10 Europa League matches this season, offering relief amid an uneven spell domestically.
Unai Emery’s side may still need a back-up route into next season’s Champions League after taking only nine points from 10 league games, a slide halted by a vital home win over West Ham United. Fourth in the table, Villa are embroiled in a tight top-five race, sitting five points clear of Liverpool and six ahead of Chelsea.
Their trip to Italy follows a prolonged break, with international fixtures and a weekend off from FA Cup action leaving them without a meaningful match since beating West Ham. Even so, Emery’s pedigree in this competition is well established — he has won the Europa League four times — and he has already come out on top in tactical duels with Bologna boss Vincenzo Italiano.
Bologna, meanwhile, have recent experience of facing Villa, losing twice in Birmingham in the past 18 months — 2-0 in last season’s Champions League and 1-0 earlier this campaign. Since then, however, the Rossoblu have set a club record by going 11 European matches unbeaten, with that Villa Park loss their only defeat in 15 continental games.
A two-time Conference League runner-up with Fiorentina, Italiano now takes Bologna into his fifth UEFA quarter-final, and the club’s first since their 1998-99 UEFA Cup run, when they eliminated Lyon.
The Emilian side reached this stage by edging past domestic rivals Roma in a dramatic last-16 tie, winning 5-4 after extra time, having previously beaten SK Brann in the knockout playoffs. After lifting the Coppa Italia and featuring in the Champions League last year, Bologna fans can again dream of a major European run.
With their cup campaign over and a nine-point gap to sixth-placed Roma in Serie A, continental qualification looks unlikely through the league, making the Europa League their clearest path back into Europe. That may be ambitious, but Bologna’s resilience — and three wins from their last four matches, including Sunday’s 2-1 victory over Cremonese — should ensure they approach Thursday’s first leg with confidence.
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