Test of European credentials in Italy

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FC Red Bull Salzburg

·25 November 2025

Test of European credentials in Italy

UEFA Europa League clash with Bologna

This week, we're looking to pick up points in Europe again, having recently secured our first win of this UEFA Europa League season at home against Go Ahead Eagles. Our next challenge will be a real test for our Red Bulls. Matchday 5 takes us away from home this Thursday at 21:00 CET to visit FC Bologna (to the opposition analysis).

The Italian cup winners have not had everything go their way in the Europa League so far - recording a 2-1 win against FCSB Bucharest, two draws against Freiburg and SK Brann Bergen, and a 0-1 defeat against Aston Villa – leaving them in 24th place with a total of five points, putting them under pressure in their remaining matches. Things are going much better for Vincenzo Italiano's team in their domestic league. Bologna recently boosted their confidence with a 3-0 victory against Udinese Calcio (with our former star Oumar Solet in the starting lineup). Fifth place in Serie A is certainly something to be proud of!

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Like us, the Rossoblu have recently had to do without several key players due to injuries, but they are gradually returning to the squad. First-choice right-back Emil Holm has just rejoined training, while Nicolo Cambiaghi and Jonathan Rowe were still training individually, as was first-choice goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski.

Nevertheless, the Italian team are capable of putting out a formidable starting XI that can pose us with significant challenges. Furthermore, the hosts will have around 30,000 fans behind them, transforming the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara into a red and blue fortress. We must counter this with a cohesive and bold team performance if we are to take key Europa League points away from home! All fans who can't make it to Italy can cheer us on from home by watching the match on Sky Sport Austria!

Possible Bologna starting XI

Injury news

Not available for the match are Lucas Gourna-Douath (knee), Takumu Kawamura (knee), John Mellberg (knee), Karim Onisiwo (pelvis) and Christian Zawieschitzky (back).

Views

Bologna are currently in excellent form, and are very well positioned in the Serie A table in Italy. This will be a big challenge, albeit in a different competition. We've already shown that we can bounce back after a defeat. That's our goal in Bologna.

Thomas Letsch

Bologna are playing really well in the league and isn't in fifth place by chance. In my opinion, they're currently playing the best football in Serie A. They also need points in the Europa League to advance. We can certainly expect a lot of intensity and aggression on Thursday. We have to be prepared for that and go into the match fully focused, because we also have the clear goal of taking points in this game.

Aleksa Terzic

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How the UEFA Europa League's league phase works

Since last season, a league format has replaced the group stage in UEFA competitions. Just like in the Champions League, each team in the UEFA Europa League is drawn against eight different opponents, with four home and four away matches.

At the end of the eight rounds, an overall standings of all 36 participating teams is established. The top eight then advance directly to the round of 16. Teams ranked 9th to 24th will face each other in a home-and-away play-off for the remaining spots in the knockout phase.

Other changes compared to previous years: following elimination, 'relegation' to the UEFA Conference League is no longer possible, as was previously the case for the third-placed teams in each group. Furthermore, the league stage also lasts until the end of January.