Aston Villa vs Bologna prediction 16.04.2026 | Europa League
Kick off:
Date:
1
1.68
X
4.26
2
5.43
Contents
- Competition: Europa League
- Date: 16/04/2026
- KO: 20:00 UK / 21:00 CEST
- Venue: Villa Park
A place in the UEFA Europa League semi-finals are on the line in Birmingham this week as Aston Villa take on Serie A visitors Bologna.
The Villains return to England after a priceless 3:1 first-leg victory in Italy and, with one foot in the final, will look to get the job done in Thursday’s return leg.
Bologna have lost both of their previous visits to Villa Park and will need to find something special if they are to secure a place in the final.
vs Head to Head (H2H) stats
-
Bologna
1 : 3
Aston Villa
Europa League
-
Aston Villa
1 : 0
Bologna
Europa League
-
Aston Villa
2 : 0
Bologna
Champions League
Aston Villa and Bologna have met on three previous occasions. Aston Villa won all three encounters, including a 3:1 win in last week’s first-leg victory in Italy.
Aston Villa team overview
Aston Villa return to Villa Park after a hard-fought 1:1 draw against Nottingham Forest last weekend. In a tight contest, the Villains will have been satisfied to claim a point at the City Ground.
Unai Emery’s side will be confident of sealing their place in the semi-finals of the Europa League after an impressive first-leg victory in Italy. Ollie Watkins scored twice as the EPL side secured a well-deserved 3:1 win.
While their recent domestic form has been underwhelming, Villa have been brilliant in the Europa League, winning ten of 11 matches in the competition this season.
With two home victories against Bologna fresh in the memory, the Villains will be confident of finishing the job on Thursday.
Head coach Emery has a few injury worries this week. Boubacar Kamara is ruled out through injury, while Alysson (muscle) and Jadon Sancho (shoulder) are both doubtful.
Last matches of
-
Nottingham Forest
1 : 1
Aston Villa
Premier League
-
Bologna
1 : 3
Aston Villa
Europa League
-
Aston Villa
1 : 2
Elche
Club Friendlies 3
-
Aston Villa
2 : 0
West Ham United
Premier League
-
Aston Villa
2 : 0
Lille
Europa League
lineup
Goalkeeper
-
23
Emiliano Martinez
Defenders
-
2
Matty Cash
-
4
Ezri Konsa
-
14
Pau Francisco Torres
-
12
Lucas Digne
Midfielders
-
8
Youri Tielemans
-
24
Amadou Onana
-
7
John McGinn
-
27
Morgan Rogers
-
10
Emiliano Buendia
Forwards
-
11
Ollie Watkins
Bologna team overview
Bologna makes the trip to England looking to build on a 2:0 Serie A win against Lecce last weekend. Goals from Remo Freuler and Riccardo Orsolini secured a deserved win for Vincenzo Italiano’s side.
With a two goal first-leg deficit to overturn, I Rossoblù have been in mixed form in the past month, recording three wins and three defeats in eight previous fixtures.
The Italians have shown some strong form in recent away games, though, with four successive victories recorded on their travels in Serie A. Bologna also claimed a remarkable 4:3 road win against Roma in the Europa League round of sixteen.
Head coach Italiano has several injury issues this week. Jhon Lucumí is suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards, while Benjamín Domínguez (back), Eivind Helland (virus) and Łukasz Skorupski (hamstring) are injured.
Elsewhere, Charalampos Lykogiannis and Thijs Dallinga both doubtful due to muscle issues.
Last matches of
-
Bologna
2 : 0
Lecce
Serie A
-
Bologna
1 : 3
Aston Villa
Europa League
-
Cremonese
1 : 2
Bologna
Serie A
-
Bologna
0 : 2
Lazio
Serie A
-
AS Roma
0 : 1
Bologna
Europa League
lineup
Goalkeeper
-
13
Federico Ravaglia
Defenders
-
17
João Mário
-
14
Torbjørn Heggem
-
16
Nicolò Casale
-
33
Juan Miranda
Midfielders
-
19
Lewis Ferguson
-
8
Remo Freuler
-
4
Tommaso Pobega
Forwards
-
10
Federico Bernardeschi
-
9
Santiago Castro
-
11
Jonathan Rowe
Prediction
Aston Villa should have too much quality for their Italian visitors in a likely entertaining Europa League quarter-final contest.
A home win is my preferred pick at Villa Park.
Three Reasons Why We Expect Aston Villa to Win
- Aston Villa won their last 3 matches against Bologna
- Aston Villa won 10 of their last 11 matches (Europa League)
- Bologna lost 2 of their last 4 matches
Main prediction -
to win
Best Odds:
22bet
1.68
vs standings in Europa League
| League Stage | P | W | D | L |
G - A
|
GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Olympique Lyonnais | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 18 - 5 | +13 | 21 |
| 2 | Aston Villa | 8 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 14 - 6 | +8 | 21 |
| 3 | FC Midtjylland | 8 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 18 - 8 | +10 | 19 |
| 4 | Real Betis | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 13 - 7 | +6 | 17 |
| 5 | Porto | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 13 - 7 | +6 | 17 |
| 6 | Sporting Braga | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 11 - 5 | +6 | 17 |
| 7 | SC Freiburg | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 10 - 4 | +6 | 17 |
| 8 | Roma | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 13 - 6 | +7 | 16 |
| 9 | Genk | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 11 - 7 | +4 | 16 |
| 10 | Bologna | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 14 - 7 | +7 | 15 |
| 11 | VfB Stuttgart | 8 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 15 - 9 | +6 | 15 |
| 12 | Ferencvárosi | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 12 - 11 | +1 | 15 |
| 13 | Nottingham Forest | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 15 - 7 | +8 | 14 |
| 14 | Viktoria Plzeň | 8 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 8 - 3 | +5 | 14 |
| 15 | Crvena Zvezda | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 7 - 6 | +1 | 14 |
| 16 | Celta de Vigo | 8 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 15 - 11 | +4 | 13 |
| 17 | PAOK | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 17 - 14 | +3 | 12 |
| 18 | LOSC Lille | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 12 - 9 | +3 | 12 |
| 19 | Fenerbahçe | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 10 - 7 | +3 | 12 |
| 20 | Panathinaikos | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 11 - 9 | +2 | 12 |
| 21 | Celtic | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 13 - 15 | -2 | 11 |
| 22 | Ludogorets | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 12 - 15 | -3 | 10 |
| 23 | Dinamo Zagreb | 8 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 12 - 16 | -4 | 10 |
| 24 | Brann | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 9 - 11 | -2 | 9 |
| 25 | Young Boys | 8 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 10 - 16 | -6 | 9 |
| 26 | Sturm Graz | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 - 11 | -6 | 7 |
| 27 | FCSB | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 9 - 16 | -7 | 7 |
| 28 | Go Ahead Eagles | 8 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 - 14 | -8 | 7 |
| 29 | Feyenoord | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 11 - 15 | -4 | 6 |
| 30 | Basel | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 9 - 13 | -4 | 6 |
| 31 | Salzburg | 8 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 10 - 15 | -5 | 6 |
| 32 | Rangers | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 - 14 | -9 | 4 |
| 33 | Nice | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 7 - 15 | -8 | 3 |
| 34 | FC Utrecht | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 5 - 15 | -10 | 1 |
| 35 | Malmö FF | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 - 15 | -11 | 1 |
| 36 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | 8 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 2 - 22 | -20 | 1 |