Aston Villa Vs Bologna Preview, Prediction, Team News, Betting Tips And Odds

Ahead of Thursday’s Europa League MD1 clash, FootItalia has the Aston Villa vs Bologna preview, prediction, betting tips, odds and more. 

Aston Villa Vs Bologna Preview

Bologna will be hoping to go one better than last season after slipping to a 2-0 defeat at Villa Park in a Champions League encounter.

John McGinn and Jhon Duran scored that night which still means the Italians have never beaten an English top-flight side in any major European competition.

Vincenzo Italiano’s side earned their place in the Europa League after beating Milan 1-0 in the Coppa Italia final. Dan Ndoye hit the winner but has since departed for Nottingham Forest.

Domestically, the Rossoblu have won two and lost two from their opening four games. Last time out against Genoa, Riccardo Orsolini dispatched a 99th minute penalty to snatch a 2-1 win.

As for Aston Villa, they will be hoping that head coach Unai Emery can lead them to European glory in 2025-26. After all, the Spaniard is the most successful boss in the competition’s history.

Emery won a trio of consecutive titles with Sevilla in 2014, 2015 and 2016. His most recent victory came in 2021 when he was manager of Villarreal.

However, Villa has been hugely underwhelming in the Premier League so far. Having gone four games without a goal, Matty Cash finally struck in the recent 1-1 draw with Sunderland.

The Villans will be hopeful of kick-starting their campaign on Thursday with European soccer providing a welcome distraction to their lethargic domestic form.

From Bologna to Brum, it's almost game time ⏳🔜#UEL #WeAreOne pic.twitter.com/GDijRMucdy

— Bologna FC 1909 (@BolognaFC1909en) September 23, 2025

Aston Villa Vs Bologna Match Odds And Info

• ⚽️ Europa League
• 🏟️ Villa Park, Birmingham, UK
• ⏱️ Thursday, 25 September: 3pm (ET)/12pm (PT)/9pm (CET)
• 🎲 Match Odds: Aston Villa -120 | Draw +260 | Bologna +375

Aston Villa Vs Bologna Team News And Predicted Lineups

With a new Jhon Lucumi Bologna contract on the table, the Colombian star will be vital to Rossoblu’s chances of success on Thursday.

The powerful center-back was pursued by Sunderand all summer but ultimately stayed at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara. He has featured in all four games this season and will start at Villa Park.

On the injury front, head coach Vincenzo Italiano will be without Nicolo Casale, Tommaso Pobega, Ibrahim Sulemana and Ciro Immobile.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa could make a number of changes for the MD1 clash. Summer signings Harvey Elliot and Jadon Sancho are pushing to start and Ollie Watkins could be replaced by Donyell Malen.

Amadou Onana and Youri Tielemans are both ruled out and the game may come too soon for Boubacar Kamara. He managed 82 minutes against the Black Cats but reported tightness in his hamstring.

Aston Villa predicted XI: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen; Bogarde, McGinn; Elliott, Rogers, Sancho; Malen

Bologna predicted XI: Skorupski; Zortea, Vitik, Lucumi, Miranda; Freuler, Ferguson; Orsolini, Odgaard, Rowe; Castro

Aston Villa Vs Bologna Prediction

With both sides being relatively goal shy so far this season, FootItalia is going to predict a change in fortunes on Thursday at Villa Park.

European soccer generally brings out the best in players and Bologna and Aston Villa certainly have stars who can find the back of the net.

However, we feel the points will be shared in Birmingham in what should be an exciting and end-to-end encounter.

Prediction: Aston Villa 2-2 Bologna

Aston Villa Vs Bologna Betting Tips

🔎 Aston Villa vs Bologna betting tip 1: Over 3.5 goals at +280

As per our prediction, we feel that both sides will have their shooting boots on. There is plenty of value in over 3.5 goals and from a bettor’s perspective, it’s very much worth considering.

🔎 Aston Villa vs Bologna betting tip 2: Riccardo Orsolini to score anytime at +360

Riccardo Orsolini finished up as Bologna’s top scorer last season and already has two in four games this campaign. He most recently converted a last-gasp penalty against Genoa so confidence will be high.