Overview

• Kickoff is 8:00pm BST on September 25 with live coverage on TNT Sports and streaming via Discovery+ in the UK.
• Villa enter without a league win and exited the Carabao Cup on penalties, with Emery urging his players to “recover our identity” after a 1-1 draw with Sunderland.
• Reported Villa absences include Amadou Onana and Youri Tielemans, Ross Barkley is ineligible, and Boubacar Kamara has only just returned to fitness.
• Bologna list injuries to Ciro Immobile, Ibrahim Sulemana, Tommaso Pobega and Nicolo Casale, and regular right-back Lorenzo De Silvestri was left off the UEFA squad list.
• Bookmakers make Villa favourites, though multiple previews flag Bologna as a credible double‑chance pick and publish projected XIs rather than confirmed line-ups.