Aston Villa v Bologna: Team News, predicted line up, match preview

Aston Villa are set to accomplish the mission to see off Bologna in the second leg of the Europa League quarter-final this week.

The Lions are returning home after their two away fixtures in Europe and the Premier League consecutively. At Villa Park, Villa are playing host to Bologna, again, in the reverse fixture.

It is their second time hosting Vicenzo Italiano’s men this season. The first one was in the league phase, when Unai Emery’s men thumped the Italian side in a narrow 1-0 win.

This time, they have already snatched a 3-1 triumph on the road last week, which should ease their burden ahead of the second leg. Yet, it does not mean Emery would go easy on them, as they were, as a matter of fact, less dominant in the first leg and under pressure most of the time.

Thanks to the top form of their defence line and Emiliano Martinez between the sticks. The Argentinian shot-stopper made three saves, including the clinical ones before conceding Jonathan Rowe’s strike nearing the final whistle.

Fatigue issue?

As the season goes towards the end, the teams will be going through the real test. When fatigue lurks, the players can be prone to injuries. It becomes a threat, especially if the squad does not have enough depth. The big quality gap between the first-choice players and their understudy, or a lack of squad rotation could also be another concerning problem.

Regarding the fatigue issue, one of Villa’s stars has underlined it following their tie in their visit to the City Ground last weekend. A number of chances were wasted through Ollie Watkins, Morgan Rogers and John McGinn. They even could not score except from Forest’s own goal in the first.

Such is definitely rather concerning since they were not able to optimise their set pieces again, unlike in the clash in Bologna before or when they crushed the Hammers prior to the international break.

Team News

With such a growing potential issue, not to mention another key man on the injury table, Unai Emery would need to find the proper solution for his team to remain in peak form till the end of the campaign with the remaining players he has in the squad.

Boubacar Kamara, Jadon Sancho and Alysson Franco are already ruled out. Now, the goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez would be on the sideline after his calf injury just before the match against Nottingham Forest on the weekend.

What’s more, according to the reports in the Birmingham Mail, several names could potentially miss the first leg of the semifinal, should they advance. Morgan Rogers, John McGinn, Matty Cash, Victor Lindelof and Lucas Digne have all been booked twice. One more yellow card could lead them to the suspension.

Their bookings will no longer on the record after quarterfinals, meaning their yellow cards in the final four will not cost them missing the finals. Only the expulsion would prevent them from playing in the summit.

Thus, the Villa boss could deploy a different line-up than expected to avoid such a threat as well as rotate the squad. Between the sticks, Marco Bizot definitely gets a nod to start. Meanwhile, in the backline, Emery might play Pau Torres with Victor Lindelof or Tyrone Mings at the centre. On both flanks, Lamar Bogarde and Ian Maatsen will be taking the wingback role.

In the second line, Youri Tielemans and Amadou Onana might still feature with Douglas Luiz to accompany them in a 4-3-3 formation instead of 4-2-3-1 or 4-4-2. The front three would include Leon Bailey and John McGinn playing wide to support Tammy Abraham.

Ollie Watkins, Emiliano Buendia and Morgan Rogers could come off the bench in the second half. Their presence could be crucial especially when they were in need of goals to salvage their chance to progress. Otherwise, they might still be on the bench for the next tricky game in the Premier League against Sunderland.

Where to watch Aston Villa v Bologna

The clash between Forest and Villa is broadcast live on TNT Sports 2. It is also available on HBO Max.

 

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