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Unai Emery has warned his Aston Villa side to respect Bologna, and the Europa League itself, if they are to continue their progress in the competition with victory over their Italian opponents.
Describing the Serie A side as “a winner team”, Emery said Villa could not be considered favourites for this quarter-final as he sought to ensure his players’ heads are in the game following the extended international break that means Villa haven’t played a competitive match since 22 March.
“To win in Europe is very, very difficult,” Emery said, speaking before the first leg which takes place on Thursday night. “Firstly you must respect this competition. Because if you are not respecting the competition, if you are not focusing 100%, you are close to being out. And I have a lot of experiences with these situations.”
Emery, of course, has won the Europa League a record four times as manager but Villa have also played Bologna in both of the past two seasons of European competition. This is the teams’ third meeting in 18 months, but the first encounter that will be played in Italy. Bologna currently sit eighth in the Serie A table and qualified from the round of 16 with a 4-3 win away at Roma.
Forest have Wood available for trip to Porto
ShowNottingham Forest will have Chris Wood available for their Europa League quarter-final first leg against Porto. The 34-year-old striker has been out since mid-October with a knee injury, which required surgery in December.
Igor Jesus, who is the Europa League's joint top scorer Igor Jesus, looks likely to start at the Éstadio do Dragão, but Wood will be in the matchday squad. 'He started training with the team and he is available for the game,” Forest head coach Vítor Pereira said.
'[Chris] is working with us, we need to manage a little bit physically but he has travelled. It means he is available to be in the game tomorrow. He is an experienced player, he scores goals and it’s important to be ready for the team in this moment because we face a lot of challenges.'
Pereira, who guided Porto to a league title in 2011-12, is wary of balancing Forest's European ambitions with securing Premier League survival, with Aston Villa visiting the City Ground on Sunday. 'I need to find the balance between the two competitions. This is the only way to compete tomorrow and again in three days’ time against Aston Villa'.
'Play with bravery and intelligence, that is what I want to see tomorrow and what I want to see three days later,' Pereira added. 'For that, I will have to manage the playing time and the team itself, otherwise the players won’t be able to play with the intensity I like to see.' PA Media
Johnson hopes Palace run can ease Wales pain
Brennan Johnson believes Crystal Palace’s Conference League quarter-final against Fiorentina is the ideal antidote to his World Cup qualification pain.
The 24-year-old missed a penalty in the shootout defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is straight back in high-stakes territory as the Eagles prepare to host the Italian side in the first leg at Selhurst Park on Thursday night.
'Coming back here, I had numerous messages from the fellas straight after the game and also the staff,' Johnson said. 'It’s felt like a bit of fresh air. We’ve got some massive games to look forward to, so I think that’s really helped in focusing on something else, and it’s one we’re all really excited for.'
Johnson, who arrived from Tottenham in January, does not mind Palace being anointed as 'favourites' in the Conference League, as they prepare to take on a side who have lost twice in previous finals. '[When] you’re up against amazing teams, [we] use it as confidence as much as we can, but at the same time know these teams provide real quality as well.'
Jørgen Strand Larsen is suspended while Jean-Philippe Mateta scoring three goals in a training game, but might not be fit for the full 90 minutes. PA Media
“Bologna is a winner team, it’s a team that in the last years are playing fantastic and they are winning finals like last year [in the Coppa Italia]”, Emery said. “I have respect for them as well as knowledge about the difficulties and this round for us is a huge challenge. We are ready but we are not going to send the message that we can be favourites because after the Roma tie it is 50-50.”
Emery said he anticipated a lively atmosphere at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara. “The supporters are always so important and they will create a great atmosphere here, which will be fantastic for them,” he said. “For us, it’s going to be very difficult. Every experience we are having in Europe, playing away, is more difficult than playing at home. And tomorrow we will need to be sure of our resilience when they are trying to play intensely with the ball or without the ball to try to stop us. We must be ready to play, and try to hear the voices of our supporters in the ground.”
