Thu Sep 25 18:10:00 UTC 2025: **Aston Villa Seeks First Victory in Europa League Clash Against Bologna Amidst Off-Field Changes**

**Villa Park, Birmingham -** Aston Villa hosts Bologna tonight in their Europa League group stage opener, seeking their first win of the season after a rocky start in the Premier League and an early Carabao Cup exit. The match follows a week of upheaval at Villa Park, marked by manager Unai Emery publicly criticizing his team’s “lazy” performance and the departure of president of football operations Monchi. Monchi has been replaced by Roberto Olabe, signaling a potential shift in the club’s long-term strategy.

Emery, a Europa League specialist with a record-breaking four titles, is under pressure to turn the tide. He has made four changes to the starting lineup from the Sunderland draw, with Marco Bizot, Ian Maatsen, Pau Torres, and Donyell Malen coming in. Notably, Emi Martinez is absent from the bench. The Villa XI: Bizot, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Maatsen, Kamara, McGinn, Guessand, Rogers, Buendia, Malen.

Bologna, managed by Thiago Motta, have also made adjustments to their lineup following a recent win against Genoa. Lewis Ferguson, formerly of Aberdeen, captains the Italian side. The Bolonga XI: Skorupski, Zortea, Vitik, Lucumi, Lykogiannis, Ferguson, Freuler, Odgaard, Castro, Bernardeschi, Cambiaghi.

This is the second consecutive season the teams have met, with Villa securing a 2-0 victory at home in the Champions League last year.

Meanwhile, in other Europa League action, Norwegian side Brann is behind against Lille, and Go Ahead Eagles trail FCSB.

**Key Stats:**

* Unai Emery holds the record for the most games managed (93), most wins (56) and most titles won (4) in UEFA Europa League history.
* Bologna are winless in their last five European games against English opponents.
* This is the second consecutive season to see Aston Villa face Bologna in European competition – the Villans won 2-0 in last season’s UEFA Champions League at Villa Park.

*Last Updated 25th September 2025 at 19:06*

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