Aston Villa vs Bologna Preview
- Competition: UEFA Champions League.
- Date: Tuesday, October 22.
- Time: 7:00 PM GMT.
- Venue: Villa Park.
Aston Villa vs Bologna will be one of nine games played on October 22 in the UEFA Champions League as the team with two wins in two will host the winless Italian side.
Villa will enter this game on the back of a good run of form. They are unbeaten in their last nine games across competitions, along with three wins and two draws in their last five. They secured a mammoth result by defeating Bayern Munich 1-0 at home in their last UCL game and have also beaten Fulham 3-1 in their last outing and will look to carry on from these two important results as they get a good hold of this season.
Bologna, on the other hand, will enter this contest on the back of a poor run of form. They have secured just one win in their last five games, with the other results being three draws and one defeat. That loss came in the UCL when they travelled to Liverpool and fell to a 2-0 defeat, but have followed that result up with two draws in Serie A. Faced with another tricky trip to England, Bolgona will look to perform better in the upcoming match.
That said, let’s take a look at the team news coming out of both camps.
Aston Villa Team News
Manager Unai Emery went with a strong lineup in his team’s last outing against Fulham as they won 3-1. He went with a traditional 4-2-3-1 formation for that game, but is likely to make a few tweaks to that combination for an arguably tougher assignment against Bologna. Ezri Konsa will return to the XI, while John McGinn can also be expected to start in place of Leon Bailey.
Bologna Team News
Manager Vincenzo Italiano fielded a strong lineup against Genoa in the team’s last game as they secured a 2-2 draw away from home. The team will be without Lewis Ferguson, Oussama El Azzouzi, Nicolo Cambiaghi and Martin Erlic for the next trip, but the rest of the squad is likely to remain the same.
Predicted Lineups
Aston Villa Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper: Emiliano Martinez.
Defenders: Ezri Konsa, Diego Carlos, Pau Torres, Lucas Digne.
Midfielders: Amadou Onana, Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans.
Forwards: John McGinn (C), Ollie Watkins, Jacob Ramsey.
Bologna Predicted Lineup (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper: Federico Ravaglia.
Defenders: Stefan Posch, Sam Beukema, Nicolo Casale, Juan Miranda.
Midfielders: Nikola Moro, Jens Odgaard, Remo Freuler (C).
Forwards: Riccardo Orsolini, Santiago Castro, Benjamin Dominguez.
Aston Villa vs Bologna Head-to-Head Record
This upcoming fixture will be the first-ever meeting between these two teams and promises to be a classic encounter. Both teams were top sides back in the 1970s and 1980s, and are only recently returning to that level of competitiveness, so this one is bound to be an exciting watch.
Key Players to Watch
Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)
The Argentine custodian has been a safe customer between the sticks for Unai Emery’s men and has established himself as one of the most important players in the Spaniard’s team. Martinez is the highest-rated Villa player in the UCL and also captained the team in McGinn’s absence in the last outing, and his team will look to him for another big performance in goal.
Lukasz Skorupski (Bologna)
Much like the Villans, Bologna’s main player in the UCL has been their Polish shot-stopper Lukasz Skorupski, who has already kept one clean sheet in the tournament. He played well in the team’s goalless draw against Shakhtar, but conceded two in a tough trip to Anfield. However, he has been in good form of late and also kept a clean sheet in Serie A recently.
Aston Villa vs Bologna Prediction
Given that this will be the first meeting between the two teams, there are no past results to go by. However, with the form Aston Villa have been in, they will be expected to win this game, but Bologna will put up a tough fight in search of their first UCL win this season.
Prediction: Aston Villa 2-1 Bologna
Where to watch Aston Villa vs Bologna live?
| Country | Where to Watch |
| USA | Paramount+ |
| UK | TNT Sports |
| India | SonyLIV |
| Italy | Sky |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q. When is Aston Villa vs Bologna?
A. Aston Villa will host Bologna on Tuesday, October 22 at 7:00 PM GMT.
Q. Where can you watch Aston Villa vs Bologna for free?
A. Fubo, Hulu + Live TV and DirecTV Stream will stream the match for free.
Q. What is the predicted score for Aston Villa vs Bologna?
A. Aston Villa 2-1 Bologna.
Q. What is the recent head-to-head record for Aston Villa vs Bologna?
A. This will be the first-ever meeting between these two teams.