Aston Villa face Bologna in the first leg of our Europa League quarter-final tie on Thursday night, and Unai Emery has named his starting line-up.
Our trip to Italy starts what will be a defining run of games to end the season, as Villa go in search of success in Europe as well as trying to ensure we secure a top-five finish in the Premier League in order to qualify for the Champions League next year.
Bologna have emerged as familiar foes over the past two seasons having crossed paths with them already, but given that the Serie A side are on a strong run of form in Europe heading into this encounter, it promises to be a difficult assignment.
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Crucially, the Villa squad started to look stronger ahead of the international break with key individuals returning from injury, and hopefully that will help us secure a positive result in midweek to pick up from where we left off against West Ham United last month.
Emery will likely have to rotate and keep everyone fresh in the coming weeks, and while changes were expected to the side starting against Bologna, the Villa boss will be delighted to welcome back Youri Tielemans to the starting line-up for the first time since January in a crucial change in our midfield.
The Belgian international has been a major absence given his influence and quality when pulling the strings for us and dictating tempo, and so having him back in the side from the start will be a fundamental boost.
Jadon Sancho misses out after suffering an injury setback during our friendly defeat against Elche last month, with Emiliano Buendia coming in to replace him.
It’s a strong Villa XI as expected with depth and tactical solutions on the bench if Emery needs them, and with a critical run of games coming up between now and the end of the season, it’s hoped that we can start positively at Bologna to keep building confidence and momentum en route to achieving our ultimate objectives.
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