In this video
- A longer break than normal, used two ways: internationals kept their rhythm and got rare rest, the rest worked and recovered without losing what was being built. McGinn and Tielemans are back among the options, and he calls the group ready.
“We are ready and we are so motivated and excited.”
- Twice faced at Villa Park under the same coach: clear, intense, aggressive, hunting duels everywhere. And the warning he keeps giving his own dressing room: they knocked out Roma and deserved to, and Italiano has been in three finals in three seasons.
- Cash raised Bologna's man-for-man press, and Emery maps the family tree: Atalanta first in Italy, a growing school in England too. To compete is to adapt, he says, then impose their own structure with and without the ball.
- Not a long-term absence, but out for tomorrow: days, maybe a week or two. Progressing well.
- The club's European Cup history makes the shirt heavy in the right way, he says, and his own European titles are exactly that, his: everything done before is done. The challenge is doing it again with Villa, building something for this club's history.
- Bologna are winners, he insists, performing since before this coach arrived, and a cup already won last year. Disrespecting the competition is how you go out, and after what they did to Roma he calls the tie even.
- The two previous meetings were at Villa Park with his crowd behind him; tomorrow the atmosphere belongs to Bologna. The tactics will not change much, he expects, but away nights in Europe have been Villa's hardest, so the demand is resilience when the pushing starts.
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery looks ahead to a huge Europa League clash against Bologna and reflects on the club’s proud European history. Emery speaks about Villa’s legacy in Europe, the challenge of facing a highly organised Bologna side under Vincenzo Italiano, and why this knockout tie demands total respect and concentration.
The Villa boss also discusses the international break, player fitness, Jadon Sancho’s injury status, and the tactical difficulty of playing against Bologna’s intense man-to-man pressing style.
With Aston Villa aiming to build something special in Europe again, Emery knows this quarter-final test could be a defining moment in their season.
