Key events
I also really like Boubacar Kamara who, if he can stay fit, has lots of the right stuff. I don’t think there’s too much wrong at Villa, they’ve just forgotten how to score which has knocked their confidence. For that reason, I’m a little surprised Ollie Watkins has been dropped, because they badly need him firing – and don’t forget he also creates – but I’m sure Emery has his reasons.
Still missing for Villa: Amadou Onana, Ross Barkley and Youri Tielemans.
I’m looking forward to seeing how Morgan Rogers does tonight, for no reason other than I love watching him play. I really enjoy his physicality and imagination, and he looks the most likely difference between the sides.
Emery tells TNT that Martinez is injured, then explains that this is a good opportunity for Malen. Otherwise, he says Villa have been good at home, but European games are always difficult. It’s their dream to play in Europe, but they’ll have to do well to get a result.
I wonder if Emery spoke harshly about his players because he thinks they should win tonight; if he does it and they don’t, what else can he then say? I think they’ll have too much in midfield for Bologna, and if they can just get that first win, they’ve got more than enough to have a decent season.
So what of Genk? Well they’re third-bottom of the league and managed by Thorsten Fink, most famous for the clearance that led to this:
As for Rangers, they make one change following weekend victory over Hibs: Chermiti, making his full debut, replaces Miovski.
Bologna have a player called Heggem, more than enough excuse to remember this forgotten banger, scored for Liverpool by his namesake on Boxing Day 1998.
Back to our teams, Emery leaves out Martinez, Mings, Digne and Watkins; in come Bizot, Pau Torres, Maatsen and Malen.
Bologna, meanwhile, 11th in Serie A after beating Genoa 2-1 at the weekend, replace De Silvestri, Heggem, Miranda, Moro, Dominguez, and Orsolini with Zoertea, Lucumi, Lykogiannis, Ferguson, Odgaard and Cambiaghi.
Email! “I know that it’s a well-worn old chuckler, but hey ho,” begins Charles Antaki. “It still raises a smile when you see Go Ahead Eagles go behind.”
Teams!
Aston Villa (4-4-2): Bizot; Cash, Konsa, Pau Torres, Maatsen; Guessand, Kamara, McGinn, Rogers; Buendia, Malen. Subs: Proctor, Oakley, Lindelöf, Mings, Elliott, Watkins, Digne, Andrès García, Sancho, Bogarde, Burrowes.
Bologna (4-3-3): Skorupski; Zoertea, Vitik, Lucumi, Lykogiannis; Ferguson, Freuler, Odgaard; Bernadeschi, Castro, Cambiaghi. Subs: Ravaglia, Pessina, Holk, Moro, Orsolini, Rowe, Heggem, Dallinga, Miranda, Fabbian.
**
Rangers (4-3-3): Butland; Tavernier, Souttar, Cornelius, Meghoma; Diomande, Raskin; Moore; Aasgaard, Gassama, Chermiti. Subs: Kelly, Wright, Rothwell, Barron, Antman, Djiga, Miovski, Gentles, Danilo, Rice, Curtis, McCallion.
Genk (5-3-2): Van Crombrugge; El Ouhadi, Sets, Sadick, Kayembe, Medina; Hrosovsky, Bangoura, Heynen; Sreuckers; Oh. Subs: Mounganga, Ito, Karetsas, Bibout, Sattleberger, Nkuba, Mirisola, Yokoyama, Adedeji-Sternberg, Palacios, Kongolo, Erabi.
Latest scores: Go Ahead Eagles 0-1 Steaua Bucharest; Lille 1-0 Brann.
Preamble
For the first time since arriving at Aston Villa in 2022, Unai Emery finds himself under pressure. At the end of last season, his players were guilty of a complete no-show in their last game, against a Manchester United side that had just lost the Europa League final, which cost them a Champions League spot, and they’ve started this in similar vein, sitting third-bottom of the table and playing so badly their manager has already accused them of being lazy.
As such, today’s match with Bologna – whom Villa beat 2-0 in last season’s premier competition – is more important than it seems. After receiving such public and stinging criticism, if they cannot rouse themselves to deliver a performance tonight, then what?
Life at Villa Park, though, sounds like a joy relative to goings-on at Ibrox. Though Rangers managed their first win in six against Hibs last weekend, Russell Martin is still in a pickle – one that can only be resolved with a succession of good results and performances. In the meantime, any defeat could mean the end with tonight’s match with Genk the latest test of his survival instinct.
Add to that a selection of other matches, and we’ve a decent evening’s rubber-necking in prospect.
Kick-off: 8pm BST
