Aston Villa and Bologna renew acquaintances in the Europa League quarter-final, with both sides set to lock horns for the third time in two seasons.
The Birmingham side won both meetings with Bologna and will be looking to make it three in a row when they reconvene for the first leg at Stadio Dall’Ara.
Villa are coming into this contest on the back of seven consecutive Europa League victories since losing 2-1 to Go Ahead Eagles in the league phase.
Unai Emery’s troops haven’t been in competitive action in more than two weeks, but that has given the Spaniard enough time to recover most of his players ahead of this evening’s contest.
After going four Premier League games without a win, including three consecutive defeats, Villa returned to winning ways with a comprehensive 2-0 victory over West Ham United.
That win kept them firmly in the hunt for a top-five Premier League finish. They sit fourth in the table, five points ahead of Liverpool and six above Chelsea.
Villa booked their spot in the Europa League quarter final with a 3-0 aggregate victory over Lille and will fancy their chances of going all the way from here.
Having already dispatched Bologna twice, Emery’s side could get one foot in the semi-final if they claim a strong victory over the Serie A club later this evening.
Emery has already prevailed over Vincenzo Italiano twice, and the four-time Europa League winner will back himself to repeat that feat for a third time.
Emiliano Martinez will likely start in goal, with a familiar back four of Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres, and Lucas Digne ahead of the World Cup winner.
Youri Tielemans is primed to make his first start since late January, while Amadou Onana could get the nod to join him in midfield duties ahead of Douglas Luiz.
Despite suffering a dip in form this season, Ollie Watkins should lead the line ahead of Tammy Abraham.