Aston Villa returns to competitive action on Thursday evening, traveling to play Bologna in the Europa League.
Unai Emery’s team advanced to the quarter-finals before the international break with a 3-0 aggregate victory against Lille, while their opponents secured a surprise 5-4 triumph against Roma over two legs.
The Villans travel to Emilia-Romagna after having previously met the Rossoblu in this year’s competition, with John McGinn scoring the sole goal in a 1-0 victory at Villa Park in September.
With a semi-final against Porto or Nottingham Forest possibly on the cards, Villa are hoping to gain an advantage when they return to B6.
And, ahead of the match, Opta’s supercomputer predicts a successful outcome for the visitors.
Aston Villa is the favorite to face Bologna.
Vincenzo Italiano’s Bologna are once again in contention for European qualification this season, with the former Fiorentina manager building on the progress achieved by Thiago Motta during his outstanding tenure.
The Rossoblu pulled off a tremendous surprise in the previous round, knocking out tournament heavyweights Roma to secure a quarterfinal berth. However, they will face another tough test in Villa.
Villa finished second in the overall standings, with their defeat to Dutch team Go Ahead Eagles being the only one of their league phase.
They have the benefit of playing the second leg at home due to their position.
The hosts will want to take full use of their home advantage on Thursday, before irritating the home fans at Villa Park.
However, if the supercomputer forecast proves to be accurate, Emery’s team should have more than enough to clinch a semifinal berth.
Europa League victory would be a tremendous achievement for Aston Villa.
After missing out on European football last season, the B6 club is eager to compete in the Champions League.
And, as of right now, they have many possibilities open to them, including the Premier League and the Europa League.
Winning a trophy would be a significant breakthrough for the Midlanders, who want to continue competing at the top of the table in both domestic and continental competitions.
As one of the favorites, the next goal is to earn a semi-final position without experiencing any big scares, avoiding the agony of losing to Olympiakos in the Conference League two years ago.
Villa is the favorite to win the Europa League next month, alongside Portuguese giants Porto.
Doing so would be a major statement from the Villans, who have continued to impress under Emery since his 2022 arrival.
