Credit: Imago

James Barker

Sat 28 March 2026 17:10, UK

Aston Villa play Bologna in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday, and Unai Emery’s side can expect a tough, physical clash with the Italians.

Indeed, Villa’s season will resume after the March internationals with continental duties, as they continue their quest to win the Europa League.

They made confident and composed work of French outfit Lille in the Round of 16, with a 3-0 aggregate win to take them one step closer to European glory.

However, after suffering a 2-1 defeat in a mid-international break friendly against Elche on Friday, Emery maybe didn’t quite get the preparatory game he was hoping for.

Villa’s game against Bologna will see the B6 boys tested, and it will be the type of challenge that will require sleeves being rolled up.

What can Aston Villa expect from Bologna?

Villa were predicted a tough game against Elche, and that’s exactly what they got, but Bologna will pose a different sort of test over the two legs.

The Emilia-Romagna-based side are managed by 48-year-old head coach Vincenzo Italiano, which you sort of have to be Italian carrying that surname, and he is.

Interestingly though, Italiano was actually born in Karlsruhe, West Germany, but has Sicilian parents, and they all moved back to Sicily as a child.

Previously the manager of clubs such as Trapani, Spezia and Fiorentina respectively, Italiano was appointed Bologna head coach in the summer of 2024, and led them to a Coppa Italia win in his first 2024-25 season in charge.

They play with an aggressive, man-oriented pressing system, always looking to win the ball back as high up the pitch as possible.

When they do have the ball, not only can they knock it about with style and quality, they’re also not afraid to go direct and get from A to B in one pass, rather than being patient and waiting for the opening to appear.

As per Sofascore, Bologna lead Serie A this season for the number of accurate long balls per game at 25.9, but also rank well in seventh for average possession at 54.9 per cent, showing their ability to hurt teams in different ways.

One other category they rank near the top of in Serie A, however, is red cards, with their five reds awarded this season only bettered by Lazio’s seven.

So, Italiano’s boys aren’t afraid to get stuck in, and so Emery will need to ensure his players are ready for a real physical battle with Bologna as well as having a tricky tactical puzzle to solve.

Who are Bologna’s main threats for Villa to watch?

Sitting ninth in Serie A at the moment, this is the position in the table which Bologna have finished in two of their last three seasons.

As such, they’ve now firmly established themselves as a top-half Serie A outfit, but who are the main danger men that Aston Villa will need to pay the most attention to over their two-legged quarter-final clashes?

Well, their top scorer in the Europa League this season is versatile forward Federico Bernardeschi with five, and the 32-year-old tends to operate on the right, but can also play as a number 10.

Meanwhile, 21-year-old striker Santiago Castro and 29-year-old winger Riccardo Orsolini both lead the team in the Serie A scoring charts with seven each respectively.

Others to keep an eye on are striker Thijs Dallinga who has a goal and an assist in his last three games, left-winger Nicolo Cambiaghi and former Norwich City forward Jonathan Rowe, who has four goal contributions in his last four games respectively.