Bologna boss Vincenzo Italiano names three things about Aston Villa that have ‘hugely impressed him’

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Bologna manager Vincenzo Italiano spoke about Aston Villa at his pre-match press conference ahead of Thursday’s Europa League encounter between the two sides.

Aston Villa welcome Bologna to Villa Park in an 8pm BST kickoff, with both sides hoping to get their Europa League campaign off to the best possible start.

Both sides faced off in the Champions League last season, with Unai Emery’s side winning 2-0 at Villa Park in October 2024.

Vincenzo Italiano explained what impressed him about Villa that time, naming three things in particular, and shared what he hopes to do better this time round.

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Vincenzo Italiano hails Aston Villa’s ‘quality, pace and strength’

Italiano expressed relief over the fact that Villa won’t catch him and his Bologna side by surprise this time round, noting how “amazing” the atmosphere was at Villa Park last term.

The Bologna boss also said Villa made a “huge impression” on him thanks to their “quality, pace and strength”, but he feels the experience from last year will serve his side well.

“Just knowing our opponent won’t take us by surprise, because last year was fantastic,” Italiano told Sky Sport Italia.

“The atmosphere in that match was amazing, and we already know what to expect.

“It was a very heated match, against a strong team, because last year they made a huge impression on me with their quality, pace, and strength.

“However, we need to try to bring a little more experience into this mini-tournament, because we have it, and try to start off on the right foot.

“It’s an eight-match mini-tournament, and we’ll try to get as many points as possible. The goal this year is to at least get past the first round.”

Italiano also spoke of how he felt Bologna were “a little too respectful” in their early matches last season, which is something he wants to avoid this time round.

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Aston Villa vs Bologna team news

Aston Villa are set to be without Amadou Onana and Youri Tielemans due to injury.

However, Andres Garcia and Ross Barkley were spotted in training on Wednesday, though the latter is not in the Europa League squad.

Meanwhile, Bologna are likely to be without Ciro Immobile, Ibrahim Sulemana, Tommaso Pobega, and Nicolo Casale.

The Serie A club have also omitted regular right-back Lorenzo De Silvestri from their Europa League squad list.