Bologna take on the visitors Aston Villa in the first leg of UEFA Europa League quarterfinals. The match will be played on Thursday, April 9th at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara (Bologna).
Bologna have started to show something in various competitions in recent years. First, a once-stable mid-table side unexpectedly climbed to 5th place under Thiago Motta. Then the Brazilian left for Juventus, where things did not go well, and without him Bologna struggled in their Europa League debut and slipped back to mid-table in Serie A — although they did manage to win the domestic cup. Now, under Vincenzo Italiano, they are not particularly impressive domestically, with wins and losses almost evenly split and the team sitting around the middle of the table again. However, in the UEFA Europa League they are performing well: they advanced from the main round with half of their matches won and only one defeat, which came in Birmingham. Then they narrowly beat SK Brann twice (1-0, 1-0) in February. Against AS Roma, both matches ended in high-scoring draws, with the tie decided by a goal in extra time in Rome. Their recent form shows solid organization in knockout matches. At the same time, inconsistency in Serie A highlights their limitations over a long distance.
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Aston Villa cannot focus solely on Europe. The “Villans” have turned their long-standing ambitions into real results since bringing in Unai Emery. He led them into European competitions in his very first season, and last year they reached the Champions League playoffs, where only Paris Saint-Germain stopped them. However, in the Premier League they finished behind Newcastle United F.C. on goal difference, ending up 5th. This season they seemed to have secured third place, but a series of setbacks allowed Manchester United to overtake them, and now they are fighting just to finish 4th or at best 5th. Nevertheless, Emery continues to prioritize his “favorite” tournament. In the Europa League, Aston Villa have lost only once — to Go Ahead Eagles — while winning all other matches, from a 1-0 victory over Bologna FC 1909 in the opening round to two wins against Lille OSC in March. Their recent results demonstrate strong consistency in European matches. At the same time, balancing domestic and international commitments remains a challenge.
The teams also met in 2024 in the Champions League, where Aston Villa won 2-0. The visitors still look stronger — the pick is Aston Villa with a 0 handicap.
Prediction for the match: Aston Villa to win with 0.0 handicap.
