Aston Villa vs Bologna Prediction 25.09.2025 | UEFA Europa League

Last season, Aston Villa made a lasting impression on Europe’s biggest stage, first securing automatic progression to the last 16 with a top-eight finish in the League Phase before pushing eventual champions PSG to the limit in a dramatic quarter-final, ultimately bowing out 5-4 on aggregate.

Unfortunately, the Villans must settle for a spot in UEFA’s secondary competition this season, having wrapped up the 2024-25 Premier League campaign in sixth, cruelly denied a top-five finish by goal difference and a costly 2-0 collapse at Old Trafford on the final day against Manchester United.

However, the Birmingham outfit find themselves enduring a troubled start to the campaign, as a frustrating 1-1 draw with 10-man Sunderland at the weekend stretched their winless run to six matches while also compounding the disappointment of an early EFL Cup exit.

Chasing their first win of the campaign, the Villans will have to manage without influential midfield trio Amadou Onana, Boubacar Kamara and Youri Tielemans, all ruled out through injury.

In contrast, Bologna were among the 36 teams competing in last season’s Champions League, marking their first appearance on Europe’s biggest stage in six decades, but a miserable six-point return saw them eliminated from the League Phase.

Even more disappointingly, Rosoblu struggled through a dull Serie A season, ending up ninth with 62 points, but they clinched a place in the UEFA Europa League thanks to a Coppa Italia victory, overcoming AC Milan 1-0 in the final showdown.

After a shaky start to the new season, the Emilia-Romagna club have posted a split record of two wins and two losses, and with both defeats arriving on the road without scoring, their prospects looking bleak ahead of a trip to Villa Park.

None of the summer signings—Ibrahim Sulemana (ligament), Tommaso Pobega (hamstring), or legendary striker Ciro Immobile (hamstring strain)—will be available for the UEFA Europa League opener against Aston Villa.