Key events
Villa Park hasn’t seen a goal yet this season, but Gassama gets away at inside-right, hangs on a little bit too long, and his shot from a tighter angle than is necessary, is saved.
But here come Genk again, El Ouahdi sliding in at the far post to send a finish over the top.
In comms, Robbie Savage says Villa Park is one of his favourite grounds and I agree, it’s one of mine, too; the Holte, when full, is one of the great ends and sights in English football. On which point, Ibrox is also a beautiful piece of work and, as I say every time it comes up, by far the noisiest ground I’ve been to, and I’ve been to a few. But Ranger are in trouble, Meghoma stepping up and allowing El Ouahdi in behind, but the shot that follows his cut-back is blocked by Tavernier.
And off we go!
Our teams come out at both Villa Park and Ibrox Stadium.
Here’s a Rangers in Europe story. Be very aware, it’s an absolute banger.
Martin explains that Chermiti is playing to add freshness and also that he “suits the game tonight”. The team are prepared but need to make it their kind of game and if they repeat Saturday’s performance, he believes they can win.
Final scores: Go Ahead Eagles 0-1 Steaua; Lille 2-1 Brann.
I’m intrigued to see how much dissent there is at Ibrox. It’s rare a manager turns around the kind of situation Russell Martin is experiencing, but as long as he’s got a job, he’s got hope. He’ll need a result tonight, you’d think.
Is Martin Keown superimposed?
As for Bologna, I’m keen to see how Lewis Ferguson gets on. He captained them to their Coppa Italia win, and will want to make an impression tonight.
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
