Aston Villa will look to confirm their place in the semi-finals of the Europa League as they welcome Bologna to Villa Park in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie.
Aston Villa have one foot in the semi-finals of the Europa League following their 1-3 victory in Emilia-Romagna against Bologna last Thursday.
That’s now eight wins on the spin in the Europa League for Unai Emery’s men and 10 victories out of 11 overall this campaign (W10-D0-L1), including five straight victories on home soil.
The Villans took another step towards qualification for the Champions League next season following a 1-1 draw away at relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest on Sunday, moving them seven points clear of sixth-placed Chelsea.
Bologna made it six wins from their last eight Serie A encounters at the weekend, as they secured a 2-0 victory at home to relegation-threatened Lecce, moving them within five points of seventh-placed Atalanta.
Prior to their first leg defeat last week, Vincenzo Italiano’s men were unbeaten in each of their previous 11 continental clashes (W7-D4-L0), winning each of their past five on their travels.
How the bookies view it: Villa favourites
Aston Villa are favourites to record a third straight win over Bologna this campaign, with bet365 pricing a home success at 8/13.
The Rossoblu are 4/1 outsiders to win inside 90 minutes and a massive 18/1 To Qualify, whilst the draw in regulation is 3/1.
Head to head: Three wins on the spin for Villa
As alluded to, these two clubs have already met twice this season, with Aston Villa winning 1-0 on MD1 in the league phase, before winning 1-3 in the first leg at the Dall’Ara last Thursday.
The Villans also defeated the Italians 2-0 at home in the league phase of the Champions League last campaign.
Players to watch:
John McGinn has scored in each of Aston Villa’s last two matches at Villa Park, including against Lille in the previous round.
The Scottish international has also scored in both meetings with the Rossoblu at Villa Park – including the only goal on MD1 of the league phase earlier this campaign – and is an appealing 6/4 at bet365 to Score or Assist.
Jonathan Rowe is a man in form for Bologna at the moment, with his goal in the first leg his sixth goal contribution across his last seven appearances for the Rossoblu.
The ex-Norwich City man now has four goals and two assists across his last six starts in the Europa League, and the 9/4 on offer at bet365 for him to Score or Assist at Villa Park looks good value.
Predicted line-ups:
Aston Villa will be without the injured Boubacar Kamara and Jadon Sancho, Ross Barkley is ineligible, and goalkeeper Emi Martinez is a doubt.
Bologna will be missing the injured Lukasz Skorupski, Benjamin Dominguez and the suspended Jhon Lucumi, whilst Elvind Helland, Thijs Dallinga and Charalampos Lykogiannis are all doubts.
Aston Villa: Bizot, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne, Onana, Tielemans, McGinn, Rogers, Buendia, Watkins
Bologna: Ravaglia, Mario, Heggem, Vitik, Miranda, Freuler, Pobega, Bernardeschi, Ferguson, Rowe, Castro
Anything else catch the eye?
Given they trail by two goals, Bologna have no choice but to go for it at Villa Park on Thursday, which should lead us to an open encounter.
The Rossoblu have scored 12 goals across their five consecutive wins away from home in Europe, including four at the Olimpico against Roma in the last round.
Both Teams to Score has paid out in each of Bologna’s last three and eight of their past 12 continental clashes, and a repeat pays a backable 4/5 at Betfred.
Interested in why both teams scoring is such a strong angle? Check out our Masterclass on BTTS and sharpen your match-reading game.
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