Aston Villa are looking to maintain their impressive form as they welcome Italian side Bologna to Villa Park for their Champions League encounter on Tuesday night. Unai Emery’s team has been in stellar form this season, with just one defeat to their name so far.
The Midlands club has made a strong start to their Champions League campaign, securing victories against Young Boys and Bayern Munich. Currently sitting sixth in the league phase table, Villa are eager to make it three wins in a row in Europe.
In contrast, Bologna have struggled to find their footing this season following the departure of former manager Thiago Motta. Despite qualifying for the Champions League against the odds, the Serie A side has managed just one victory in all competitions. However, they’ve proven difficult to beat, suffering only two defeats thus far.
John McGinn has returned from injury, and Boubacar Kamara is back in the squad. Tyrone Mings could also feature after a year-long absence, while Robin Olsen is out with a head injury. Emery is expected to field a similar lineup to the one that secured a 3-1 victory against Fulham over the weekend.
Bologna, on the other hand, will be without Samuel Iling-Junior (on loan from Villa) and have several players sidelined, including Michel Aebischer, Martin Erlic, and Lewis Ferguson. Dan Ndoye and Oussama El Azzouzi could return to action for the Italian side.
Villa’s high-flying attack, which has been potent in both domestic and European competitions, will face a resilient Bologna defense. The Italian side’s ability to frustrate opponents could make for an intriguing tactical battle.
Aston Villa: (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Konsa, Carlos, Torres, Digne; Onana, Tielemans; Bailey, Rogers, Ramsey; Watkins.
Bologna: (4-1-4-1): Skorupski; Posch, Beukema, Lucumi, Miranda; Freuler; Orsolini, Urbanski, Moro, Ndoye; Dallinga.
