Overview
- Villa’s first leg in Bologna kicks off at 8pm UK time on Thursday and will be shown on TNT Sports 2 with streaming on Discovery+ and HBO Max.
- Unai Emery confirmed Jadon Sancho is out with a short-term shoulder injury, Ross Barkley is ineligible for Europe, Youri Tielemans is expected back, and Boubacar Kamara remains sidelined.
- Bologna coach Vincenzo Italiano calls his team underdogs and says they must play a perfect game to keep the second leg alive.
- Emery points to Villa’s European pedigree and says the club carries a responsibility to succeed in a competition he has won four times.
- Villa are favored after home wins over Bologna in recent seasons, yet the context is tricky as Bologna are unbeaten in 11 European matches and Villa have never won away in Italy.