Italiano: ‘Bologna must be clinical, but Aston Villa are favourites’ | OneFootball

Vincenzo Italiano warns Aston Villa ‘are the favourites’ in the Europa League quarter-final, but Bologna need to be ‘clinical, because we didn’t make the most of opportunities’ last time.

It kicks off at the Stadio Dall’Ara at 20.00 UK time (21.00 CEST).

You can follow all the build-up and action as it happens from this game and Crystal Palace vs. Fiorentina on the Liveblog.

The Rossoblu are the only remaining Italian team in the Europa League, having surprisingly eliminated Roma in the Round of 16 after a 4-3 second leg thriller in extra time.

They already faced Aston Villa twice recently, losing 2-0 in October 2024 and 1-0 back in September, but that was also the only Europa League defeat this season, followed by four draws and seven victories.

Italiano wants Bologna coup

BOLOGNA, ITALY – FEBRUARY 26: Vincenzo Italiano, Head Coach of Bologna, speaks to his players during warm up prior to the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 Knockout Play-off Second Leg match between Bologna FC 1909 and SK Brann at Stadio Renato Dall’Ara on February 26, 2026 in Bologna, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

“It is good to be here and taking part in games like this, we’ll see if we can perform on the night against a great opponent, a coach who has already won this competition four times. They are the favourites, and we need a super performance to cause them problems,” Italiano told Sky Sport Italia.

Martin Vitik is suspended, with Lukasz Skorupski, Thijs Dallinga, Charalampos Lykogiannis and Benjamin Dominguez out injured.

Santiago Castro leads the attack, with Federico Bernardeschi and Jonathan Rowe in support, plus Lewis Ferguson and Tommaso Pobega in midfield.

“We’ll see if we are able to work between the lines and into those corridors with Ferguson and Pobega. Once we lose the ball, we’ve got to chase it down immediately, and when we have it, we’ve got to try to hurt them, especially in the home leg.

“Above all, I want to see us be clinical, because we did create plenty of chances in the two previous matches against them, and we didn’t make the most of those scoring opportunities.”

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 25: Unai Emery, Manager of Aston Villa, gestures from the sidelines during the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 League Phase MD1 match between Aston Villa FC and Bologna FC 1909 at Villa Park on September 25, 2025 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Unai Emery won the Europa League four times, but also expressed admiration for Italiano’s record, having reached two Conference League Finals and two in the Coppa Italia, winning the latter last season.

“We are talking about a coach who gets his teams playing well, has won so many trophies, and that means he’s a winner. Here too, he immediately got Aston Villa into the Champions League, he’s a great European coach, it is an honour to challenge him and we hope to do well,” concluded Italiano.