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Unai Emery faces the media as Aston Villa prepare to face Serie A side Bologna in Europa League quarter-final second leg at Villa Park Villa hold a 3-1 aggregate lead following victory in the first leg in Italy last Thursday Emi Martinez, who missed Sunday's 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest, trained today and should be 'ready' for Thursday Midfielder Youri Tielemans says Villa can ill-afford 'slow start' at Villa Park Villa, who are fourth in the Premier League, can qualify for next season's Champions League by winning this season's Europa League] Vitor Pereira speaking later ahead of Nottingham Forest's second leg against Porto at the City Ground Forest earned a 1-1 draw in last week's first leg and will face Villa in the semi-finals should both teams progress Written by Harry Poole, Tasnim Chowdhury, Elizabeth Botcherby & Saffie Yates Aston Villa v Bologna (Thur, 20: 00 BST) Aston Villa Aston Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans on what he feels he brings to the team's midfield: "I just try and execute what the manager is asking of me and try to play in the positions I need to play. I try to do the best I can. "I have been here for nearly three years now and I know what the manager needs from me. I just try to show my qualities on the pitch. "As midfielders, we try to talk to the other players because we can see pretty much everything on the pitch. That communication is really important. I've always done that because that's me. " Aston Villa v Bologna (Thur, 20: 00 BST) Aston Villa Aston Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans on if the squad feels they are building momentum: "We're firing, we are all fit and hopefully we can all stay fit. I'm sure if we are then our mentality in our heads is moving in the right direction, which is positive for us. " Whether this is the season his side win a trophy, Tielemans added: "You don't know. You play to win it. That's my mentality and also the mentality for many players in the squad. "When you get there, you have to make sure you play the game as good as you can play and not think about the end moment because that's where you can get carried away sometimes. We need to keep playing like we do and hopefully win those games. " Aston Villa v Bologna (Thur, 20: 00 BST) Aston Villa Aston Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans on the excitement in the dressing room: "I think we can feel we're in a good moment. We've got some momentum with playing for the highest places in the Premier League and the quarter-final in the Europa League. "But we're aware of where we are. We know our qualities and we deserve to be there because we work hard for it. We've got some really good results over the last few months. It's just a good time for us and we want to keep it until the end of the season. " Aston Villa v Bologna (Thur, 20: 00 BST) Aston Villa Aston Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans on the lessons learnt from the first leg: "I think last week was our first game back after the international break. We had to take that into consideration, knowing we hadn't played at the weekend. That first game back is always getting back into rhythm, trying to play together, being used to playing together. "We had a bit of a slow start in the first-half, [Bologna] had a goal disallowed but we worked really hard on keeping that line and it paid off. I don't think we conceded many chances apart from that crossbar maybe but it is true that we had a bit of a slow start, tomorrow we can't have that. " Aston Villa v Bologna (Thur, 20: 00 BST) Aston Villa Aston Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans on the crowd and atmosphere at Villa Park tomorrow: "It is massively important, our supporters in our home, we know how strong we can be, but it’s mainly due to them. "They just push us over the line sometimes and to have them behind us and listening to that noise, it’s special. As players, we don’t take it for granted when they’re there for us, it’s really good and important for us. ” So, Unai Emery is taking nothing for granted before tomorrow night's second leg, as you'd expect. We'll get the players' perspective next, from Aston Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans, before heading over to Nottingham Forest. Aston Villa v Bologna (Thur, 20: 00 BST) Aston Villa Aston Villa boss Unai Emery on whether players who could face a ban in the potential semi-final plays a part in his selection: "Sorry we are not thinking about the semi-final. We are thinking about tomorrow and playing tomorrow. Of course we want to play the best players tomorrow. " On what is making him happy: "Of course playing in Europe, to play a quarter-final is a privilege and I share it with the players, with the club, with the supporters. I am excited about how we are getting the last matches in the Premier League being fourth and progressing in the Europa League. Of course tomorrow we must be focused but also enjoy it. In the process of preparing for the games, I am happy. "Tomorrow at Villa park I will expect the support from the supporters, they must give us the energy. It will push the players to play with energy. " Aston Villa v Bologna (Thur, 20: 00 BST) Aston Villa Aston Villa boss Unai Emery on the threat posed by Bologna's 21-year-old striker Santiago Castro: "I had the same question last week about him. He is progressing a lot. We played against them in September and he was a very good striker but now he is getting better. He threatened us a lot and we must defend him stronger because he is very good in duels, he's very good at heading and he is very good running in from behind. "Of course, we must be ready but not with him only because they have a lot of very important players and individually with really good skills or paces or one-against-one. But of course Castro is one player we knew, now how he is progressing is really fantastic. " Aston Villa v Bologna (Thur, 20: 00 BST) Aston Villa Aston Villa boss Unai Emery on goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who picked up an injury before kick-off on Sunday: "He is a fantastic goalkeeper, a fantastic guy, he is ready. "He is performing amazing and we are very proud of him. Every day we are praying to have everybody available to play. "When something happens in the last minute like Sunday, wow, how [well] Marco [Bizot] responded. "Today he trained with us. Normally he is going to be available for tomorrow and tomorrow we will decide. " Aston Villa v Bologna (Thur, 20: 00 BST) Aston Villa Aston Villa boss Unai Emery on the future of Manchester United loanee Jadon Sancho, who returned to training today, amid interest from Borussia Dortmund: "We are focused 100% collectively and individually [on tomorrow]. "To speak about the future now does not make sense. We spoke a lot during the season with him about his task with us, how we need his performance, his qualities, but now it is about tomorrow. "He is coming back. He is a fantastic player and he needs to be consistent. He has been demanding and he adapted in our structure. "It is a pity in the last two weeks he has been injured because he finished before the break playing fantastic. " Select the 'Get Involved' button to have your say I predict all 3 European finals will have a PL side in them. Chris Aston Villa v Bologna (Thur, 20: 00 BST) Aston Villa Aston Villa boss Unai Emery on whether the tie is already over or not: "We are in the quarter-final second leg. Of course we have a good result. But watching the experience and watching the coach playing three finals in the last three years, the respect is massive. "When they were playing against Rome, maybe you could think Rome was the favourite and they beat one of the favourites. How they are competing, how they are as a team, how they are pushing all the matches, of course we make ourselves respectful. "They are going to play the same match. So aggressive, so intense, getting duels man to man, and attacking us. I respect a lot and I appreciate a lot the performance. "We have a very good team. When the referee's whistle, the first minute starts, we're going to be focused 100% because we will fight tomorrow more than we did [in the first leg]. " Aston Villa v Bologna (Thur, 20: 00 BST) Aston Villa Aston Villa boss Unai Emery on whether the first goal is crucial tomorrow night: "Maybe not, if we are not scoring or they are not scoring! "We are ready to start winning or to start losing. We are ready. "I expect the players as well they have my message and keep the game plan tomorrow, extending the first leg we played. "Of course, how we scored the first goal was really fantastic and important but they can score one goal in one moment and we must be ready for everything. " Aston Villa v Bologna (Thur, 20: 00 BST) Aston Villa Right then, here are Aston Villa boss Unai Emery and midfielder Youri Tielemans! Let's get their thoughts before tomorrow night's match. .. Select the 'Get Involved' button to have your say I do think Villa will progress, but I hope we don’t get Forest in the semi-final, nothing worse than spending the season going all round Europe just to be knocked out by a team up the road Robbie Nick Mashiter BBC Sport football news reporter Forest are unbeaten in their past five games in all competitions as Vitor Pereira looks to steer them away from trouble. With a three-point cushion to the relegation zone, survival is in their hands - especially with the visit of second-bottom Burnley to the City Ground next Sunday. Four points from home games against Champions League-chasing Aston Villa and fellow strugglers Burnley would represent a crucial return in the fight against the drop. They are battling for it and rode their luck against Villa - with Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins missing superb openings - but it is another point on the board. Pereira's decision to rest a number of senior players for the midweek Europa League draw at Porto also paid off, and with Chris Wood making his return after six months out injured this week the momentum is with Forest. Premier League survival is the priority - Pereira saying it would be a "disaster" if Forest were to be relegated - but in a week which will define their season they have made a positive start. Porto visit in the Europa League quarter-final second leg on Thursday, and come Sunday evening Forest could be almost safe and into a European semi-final. Click 'Get Involved' at the top of the page As a Forest fan I would obviously love to be in the semis yet if it comes at the cost of losing vital points in the league I would much rather be knocked out. But hey champions league in the championship would be fun. Ishaan, Nottingham We are still expecting to hear from Aston Villa boss Unai Emery very soon, plus Nottingham Forest's Vitor Pereira will be sitting down to speak to the media at about 14: 30 BST. So don't go anywhere - and do keep your messages coming in! Aston Villa v Bologna (Thur, 20: 00 BST) Aston Villa Aston Villa head into their Europa League quarter-final second leg against Bologna on Thursday night with a healthy 3-1 first-leg lead, but will the Villans' record against Italian sides settle any nerves going into such a big game? The club has rarely faced Italian competition in Europe, but across 10 matches against Juventus, Inter Milan and - most importantly - Bologna, they have come away with five wins, one draw and four defeats. Overall, Aston Villa have been particularly strong against Italian teams at Villa Park, while most of their defeats have come in Italy. The good news for Villa fans is their strongest record is against Bologna, who they have now beaten on all three occasions - with each win coming during Unai Emery's tenure. Select the 'Get Involved' button to have your say Here’s hoping we (Villa) don’t succumb to the pressure of recent seasons; will be a great game, as long as we show up Rob Copyright © 2026 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.