[Pre-Match Thread] Bologna vs. Aston Villa (Europa League – Quarter-finals)

Bologna vs. Aston Villa

Competition: Europa League – Quarter-finals

Date: Thu 9 Apr 2026

Kickoff: 20:00

Venue: Stadio Renato Dall'Ara

Referee: Sandro Scharer

Aston Villa Statistics (all competitions)

Form: LWLWW

Goals per match: 1.4

Average Possession: 54.3%

Goals conceded per match: 1.2

Pass Accuracy: 85.7%

Shots per game: 12.6

Tackles per game: 15.1

Clean Sheets: 15

Bologna Statistics (all competitions)

Form: DWWLW

Goals per match: 1.38

Average Possession: 54.4%

Goals conceded per match: 1.2

Pass Accuracy: 82.5%

Shots per game: 14.9

Tackles per game: 15.1

Clean Sheets: 13

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Match Facts

• Aston Villa will grace Stadio Renato Dall’Ara for the very first time on Thursday night. The picturesque ground has been Bologna’s home for 99 years, and after two clashes against the Serie A side at Villa Park, the clubs will meet in Italy for the first time.

• Bologna have lost both of their European meetings with Aston Villa, losing at Villa Park both times – 2-0 in last season’s UEFA Champions League and 1-0 earlier this season in the UEFA Europa League.

• Villa have kept a clean sheet in each of their last four major European matches against Italian teams (W3 D1). The last player to score for an Italian team against Villa was Dennis Bergkamp in September 1994 for Internazionale in the UEFA Cup.

• This is Bologna’s fifth major European quarter-final – they were knocked out by Leeds in the 1966-67 Fairs Cup and Sporting CP in the 1990-91 UEFA Cup, while they eliminated FK Vojvodina in the 1967-68 Fairs Cup and Lyon in the 1998-99 UEFA Cup.

• Aston Villa have reached a European quarter-final for a third consecutive season, knocking out Lille in 2023-24 in the Conference League and losing 5-4 on aggregate to PSG in last season’s UEFA Champions League. In the UEFA Cup/Europa League, it’s their first since 1997-98 against Atlético de Madrid (2-2 on aggregate, lost on away goals).

• Bologna have only lost one of their last 15 major European matches (W8 D6), losing to Aston Villa in September. They’re unbeaten in 11, with Fiorentina the last Italian side to have a longer unbeaten run in Europe (12 in 2023-24).

• Villa have won their last seven UEFA Europa League matches. There’s only been five previous occasions an English club have won eight major European games in a row, and all have been since the start of the 2022-23 season – West Ham (8 in 2022-23), Man City (10, May 2023 to March 2024), Liverpool (8, April 2024 to January 2025), Chelsea (9 in 2024-25) and Arsenal (8 in 2025-26).

• Bologna’s Jonathan Rowe has been involved in five goals in his last six UEFA Europa League appearances (3 goals, 2 assists). It’s only the second time an Englishman has been involved in 5+ goals for a non-English club in a Europa League season, along with James Tavernier for Rangers in 2021-22 (7 goals, 2 assists).

• John McGinn has scored nine goals in major European competition for Aston Villa, the joint most of any player for the club along with Peter Withe. 41 different Scotsmen have scored 10+ European goals but the last Scottish player to reach 10 goals in Europe was Ally McCoist back in November 1990.

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