Credit: Imago

Cameron Smith

Thu 9 April 2026 14:00, UK

Aston Villa are preparing to take on Bologna in the quarter-finals of the Europa League, knowing going all the way in the competition can take the club to a whole new level.

The Villans secured their spot at this stage before the international break, with Unai Emery’s side brushing aside Lille 3-0 on aggregate.

No manager has lifted the Europa League more times than Emery, with the Spaniard winning the competition four times across spells with Sevilla and Villarreal.

His Villa side have come close in Europe, too, having reached the semi-finals and quarter-finals of the Conference League and Champions League in recent years.

The B6 outfit are aiming to further progress into a side consistently fighting for silverware both domestically and on the continent, and a triumph this year could be exactly what elevates the club to that level.

Silverware is the missing piece of the jigsaw for Unai Emery and Aston Villa

Emery’s impact will forever be remembered as one of the biggest managerial successes in the modern game.

Upon his arrival, the Villans had been struggling at the wrong end of the Premier League since their promotion to the top flight in 2019 – what followed would be remarkable.

Guiding the club to the Conference League in his first year, and then the Champions League in his second, Villa were hitting fantastic levels under his guidance, before they narrowly missed out on Europe’s premier competition on the last day of the 2024-25 campaign.

The next step is to push further towards the top end of the Premier League, where they found themselves monentarily after a sensational run heading into the new year.

But as since found out, reaching a level to fight for titles is an incredibly taxing task, one that will require further backing and the ability to convince players of just how good a project it is in the west Midlands.

A trophy would do exactly that, especially a European trophy.

If the Villans were to lift the Europa League next month, they would solidify themselves as a huge force across the continent, with a fantastic base to build upon when it comes to further strengthening the squad, and convincing current talent that Villa Park is the place to be.

Aston Villa’s Europa League favourites tag is a testament to Emery

As mentioned, Villa have continued to shift through the gears throughout Emery’s time at the club, with the large majority of the squad being the same when compared with his early days.

However, he just continues to extract the very best out of each member, while the mercurial talents of Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans, Boubacar Kamara and more get to strut their stuff at a club with sky-high ambitions.

Alongside Portuguese giants Porto, Villa are arguably the strongest side left in the competition, while the two clubs could meet in the semi-finals, should Aston Villa first overcome Bologna and Porto beat Forest.

Winning the whole thing would not just add a fifth to Emery’s cabinet, it would prove that Aston Villa are a force to be reckoned with across the continent, and a club that are incredibly close to pushing for silverware year in and year out with the right backing.

European success would be an unbelievable moment for the fans of the club, but away from this, it could elevate the Second City giant to a whole new stratosphere in the modern game.