Aston Villa vs Bologna – Match Preview and Team News | OneFootball

Aston Villa welcome Serie A outfit Bologna to Villa Park on Tuesday night as they look to preserve their perfect record in the Champions League.

Unai Emery has again proven himself to be one of the best tacticians in European football and The Villans have profited off his expertise during wins against Young Boys and Bayern Munich.

Their 1-0 victory over the German heavyweights is arguably the club’s greatest result of the 21st century, with Jhon Duran netting the decisive goal with an ingenious finish over Manuel Neuer.

A rare scenario could occur tonight as Samuel Iling-Junior, who is on loan at Bologna from Villa, could feature against his parent club.

The winger, who was signed from Juventus this summer, is able to play due to UEFA rules not preventing a player from facing their permanent club. Iling-Junior is yet to start a game for the Italian side.

It has been a refreshing few weeks on the selection front for Unai Emery. Long-term absentees Emiliano Buendia and Boubacar Kamara have returned to the matchday squad after being sidelined for almost a entire year with anterior cruciate ligament injuries.

Aston Villa vs Bologna – Match Preview and Team News

Form

Aston Villa: WDWDW

Aston Villa have continued their consummate displays from last season and have only been defeated once this season, against Arsenal in August.

Their battle away at Fulham at the weekend was an entertaining contest, which included a red card for either side, Emiliano Martinez saving a penalty and four goals, as Villa prevailed 3-1 at Craven Cottage.

They are yet to concede a goal in the Champions League and have collected maximum points from their encounters with Young Boys and Bayern Munich.

Unai Emery’s side look in fine form at the moment and another triumph tonight will extend their unbeaten run to 10 matches.

Bologna: WDLDD

Bologna enter tonight’s fixture having not tasted victory in their last four games, which includes a 2-0 defeat on English soil earlier this month.

The I Rossoblu lost at Liverpool, with Arne Slot’s side having too much nous and experience for Bologna and they reduced the Italians to very little attacking threat.

In Serie A, Vincenzo Italiano’s team are wallowing in 12th position. Bizarrely, after eight games they won just once but have also only lost one game.

It is hard to determine whether their six draws are a good sign or not. On one hand, Bologna have been hard to beat under their new head coach, though one league victory all season is not representative of a Champions League level competitor.

Former manager Thiago Motta enhanced his reputation as one of Europe’s best up-and-coming coaches by guiding Bologna to fifth place and Champions League qualification for the first time in the club’s history. Motta’s move to pastures new at Juventus, alongside the sales of Riccardo Calafiori and Joshua Zirkzee, have made things more difficult this time around.

Last Meeting: N/A

Aston Villa and Bologna have never faced each other in a competitive meeting.

Predicted Lineups

Aston Villa: Martinez; Konsa, Carlos, Torres, Digne; Onana, Tielemans; McGinn, Rogers, Ramsey; Watkins.

Bologna: Skorupski; Posch, Beukema, Lucumi, Miranda; Freuler, Moro; Orsolini, Fabbian, Karlsson; Castro.

Who is the referee?

Portuguese referee João Pinheiro will be the match official. He will be assisted by Bruno Jesus and Luciano Maia while João Gonçalves will be the fourth official. The VAR is Tiago Martins and he will be assisted by Fedayi San.

What channel is Aston Villa vs Bologna on?

Aston Villa vs Bologna will be available to watch on TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate and Discovery+.

What time is kick off?

Kick-off at Villa Park will be at 20:00 BST on Tuesday 22nd October 2024.

Odds

Aston Villa – 3/5

Draw – 3/1

Bologna – 17/4

Read – Five huge European fixtures you must not miss this week

See more – Five things we learned from the Premier League weekend

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