Credit: Imago

Cameron Smith

Thu 9 April 2026 7:00, UK

Bologna welcome Aston Villa to Italy for a crucial Europa League quarter-final on Thursday, with the hosts looking to stun the tournament favourites.

Unai Emery’s side travels to Emilia-Romagna having secured their spot via a 3-0 aggregate win against Lille before the international break.

The Rossoblu themselves pulled off a big shock in the same round, with Vincenzo Italiano’s side beating Roma 5-4 over two legs – another of the initial favourites to win the competition in May.

After finishing second in the league phase, the Villans have the advantage of playing out the second leg at home next week.

Heading into Thursday’s first leg, Villa News brings you everything you need to know as Aston Villa look to bring an advantage back to B6.

How to watch Bologna vs Aston Villa

With the Premier League paused for the FA Cup quarter-finals over the weekend, it will have been almost three weeks since the Villans were last in competitive action by the time they face Bologna.

While form somewhat goes out of the window given the extended break, Emery’s side returns having got back to winning ways in the Premier League last time out, with goals from John McGinn and Ollie Watkins securing a 2-0 win against West Ham.

With Braga and Real Betis facing each other on Wednesday, Villa’s tie takes place at the same time as the remaining two quarter-final fixtures: Nottingham Forest versus Porto and Freiburg against Celta Vigo.

As well as being shown on TNT Sports 2, fans watching from home will be able to catch the action on HBO Max, with the platform having taken over from Discovery Plus regarding TNT’s live coverage.

Viewers will be able to use their existing TNT Sport credentials from Discovery Plus and stream the match via the HBO app or website.

Aston Villa fans will be keeping a keen eye on Nottingham Forest

There is no doubt that Villa have been drawn on the tougher side of the bracket, with multiple sides earmarked as potential winners facing each other in the round of 16 and quarter-finals.

Last round, Roma and Stuttgart were dumped out by Bologna and Porto, respectively, after both sides were expected to make a dent in the latter stages.

While on the other side, league phase toppers Lyon suffered a shock defeat against Celta Vigo.

Should the B6 outfit secure a semi-final spot, they will face either Porto or Nottingham Forest.

With Forest looking to secure their Premier League survival, they go into the latter stages of the competition somewhat distracted, making this potentially a more favourable tie for Villa, in comparison to an exciting young Porto side carrying a five-point lead at the top of the Primeira Liga.

Should Porto fall against the Garibaldi, another of the European heavyweights would be out of the way for Emery’s side, who will well and truly take the crown as the tournament favourites heading into the final two rounds.

First, they need to deal with Bologna.