Aston Villa

Aston Villa's England defender Ezri Konsa is facing the media, along with manager Unai Emery, to preview Thursday's Europa League opener at home to Bologna.

He said Villa are contenders for the title, it's only a matter of time before the forward line clicks and they start scoring again and added that it was not the time for crisis meetings.

Konsa also spoke about Emery's criticism of the defence and how it can fuel them to perform better.

More to follow.

Rangers

• This will be the first-ever meeting between Rangers and Genk. The Ibrox side have already faced Belgian opposition this season, losing 3-1 at home and 6-0 away to Club Brugge in Champions League qualifying.
• This will be Genk's first-ever game against a Scottish opponent in European competition. The Belgian club are unbeaten in the past three games when meeting a team for the first time in major European competition (W2 D1) but lost 3-0 to West Ham in their most recent such match that came in the Europa League in October 2021.
• Rangers have won their opening game in four of the past five Europa League campaigns, with the exception a 2-0 home defeat to Lyon in September 2021.
• This will be Genk's first appearance in the Europa League since the 2021-22 campaign, the only season in which they failed to get out of the group stage in the competition. Genk have won their first game to nil in four of their five prior appearances in this competition (L1).
• James Tavernier could make his 58th appearance in the Europa League for Rangers, levelling Matheus (58 for Braga) for the second-most games played for a single club in the competition, behind only Salzburg's Andreas Ulmer (61).

Scott Mullen
BBC Scotland

It was a day that started with protests against Russell Martin and ended in progression.

On Saturday, the Rangers head coach's name was scrawled across bed sheets and hoisted aloft in the street. "Russell out - worst manager in history" was the claim.

His face, and also that of chief executive Patrick Stewart, was plastered across posters as fans took a stand outside Ibrox, while inside, balls were hurled on to the pitch and messages unravelled in a deliberate delay to draw attention to his position.

The fact a relatively perfunctory 2-0 Premier Sports Cup quarter-final victory over Hibernian was recorded will therefore have come as some sort of relief to Martin.

Yet, with a backdrop of more than 15,000 empty seats and protests, including one banner unfurled when they were winning, this glimmer of respite perhaps simply fails to add pressure rather than relieve too much of it.

Celtic

Image source, Getty Images

Midfielder Benjamin Nygren insists Celtic won't be intimidated by the atmosphere inside Red Star Belgrade's imposing stadium when they open their Europa League campaign in the Serbian capital on Wednesday evening.

"I'm looking forward to it a lot," the Sweden international said.

"I've heard a lot about this place, that it's going to be an amazing atmosphere.

"We play for Celtic, so we know how good we are," he said. "Me and everyone else have a lot of confidence.

"That's what you dream of as a kid. You want to play in front of these crowds, that's why you want to be a footballer. I don't think anyone in the team wants to play for zero crowds.

"We play at Celtic Park in front of 60,000. So we know how it is and we are looking forward to it."

Like his manager, Nygren says Celtic have moved on from their disappointing Champions League exit.

"We have had some games where we maybe haven't done as well as we wanted to do but that is in the past, now the focus is on the future.

"We won the last two games and we want to win every game going forward."

Celtic

Red Star have made four Champions League appearances over the last seven seasons, but were stunned by Cypriots Pafos in qualifying this term.

That upset was caused, in part, by selling a lot of the family silver in the summer, with the sales of 18-year-old pair Veljko Milosavljevic to Bournemouth and Andrija Maksimovic to RB Leipzig helping bring in more than £40m.

But there remains plenty with which to concern Celtic.

None more so than veteran Aleksandar Katai, who has already amassed 12 goals in 13 games from midfield, having scored 19 last term as they racked up an eighth successive Serbian title.

On Saturday, as they defeated neighbours and bitter rivals Partizan Belgrade in the 'Eternal Derby', Katai formed part of an attacking four with 17-year-old Vasilije Kostov, Montenegro international Mirko Ivanic - who has seven goals this term - and former West Ham and Stoke striker Marko Arnautovic.

Celtic

Image source, Getty Images

Manager Brendan Rodgers insists Celtic have moved on from their Champions League disappointment as they prepare to make an impact in the Europa League.

The Scottish champions were knocked out of Europe's premier club competition in the play-offs by Kazakh side Kairat Almaty.

Their focus is now on their opening game of the Europa league phase against Red Star Belgrade, who fell at the same stage of Champions League qualifying.

"I think both clubs would have wanted to be in that [the Champions League], but after the initial disappointment we are looking forward to it," Rodgers said.

"We are not there, that is life. We cannot look back, we can only look forward. It's a prestigious competition and we have to embrace it and see what we can do."

Celtic have been to the final of this competition before - losing 3-2 to Jose Mourinho's Porto 22 years ago - but Rodgers was not willing to contemplate how deep his team could go this time around.

After Red Star, they host Roma, Sporting Braga, Sturm Graz and Utrecht, and visit Feyenoord, Midtjylland and Bologna.

Amy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland

Image source, SNS

Twelve months ago, on the eve of Celtic's campaign opener against Slovan Bratislava, Brendan Rodgers said: "There's absolutely no doubt this feels like the most ready I've been as a Celtic manager going into a Champions League campaign."

The football that followed supported his statement. A venture that kicked off with a comprehensive win over the Slovakians ended with the Glasgow side suffering a gut-wrenching defeat by Bayern Munich to miss out on the last 16. With a few ups and downs along the way.

As has been previously highlighted though, that near-miss in Munich has far from galvanised those in green and white. As this season's calamitous exit in Almaty a month ago would attest to.

Instead of backing up that brave effort at the Allianz Arena in February on the big stage again, the Scottish champions have been consigned to the Europa League, alongside their city rivals Rangers.

The second-tier competition is familiar and an often comfortable environment for the Ibrox club, who enjoyed a run to the quarter-finals of last term's edition.

But nothing about the season so far has been familiar or comfortable for either of Glasgow's big two, who both kick off their Europa League campaigns this week.

Chants of "sack the board" circle around Celtic before their visit to Red Star Belgrade on Wednesday, while Rangers' fan protests are aimed at head coach Russell Martin, who will continue his search for a first league win at the weekend after hosting Genk on Thursday.

So is either side ready for a run in Europe?

Craig Nelson
BBC Sport reporter

It's amazing how quickly the narrative can change in football.

Aston Villa were basking in the warm glow provided by the Champions League at this stage of last season, and only missed out on an instant return on the final day of the Premier League campaign.

Questions are now being asked, but considering his Europa League pedigree, you would not back against Unai Emery finding the answers.

Those same questions are being asked in Scotland, where Celtic and Rangers both failed to make it through the qualifying rounds and into the Champions League at the start of this season.

They now find themselves in the Europa League...

David Michael
My Old Man Said podcast

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Nine of Unai Emery's starting XI against Sunderland were players he inherited when he walked through the door at Aston Villa almost three years ago. Only Morgan Rogers and Evann Guessand have been added since - and had Youri Tielemans been fit (an Emery transfer), even Guessand would likely have been on the bench.

It raises an awkward question: why, after six transfer windows, does Villa still look so much like the team Emery found waiting for him?

Back in late 2021, when Newcastle United came calling, Emery turned them down and instead accepted the Villa job. Some suggested he preferred the more "oven-ready" squad he would inherit at Villa Park. Perhaps he really did like what he saw.

But the lack of turnover since then remains curious despite PSR. In fact, according to The Athletic, Villa have fielded the joint-oldest squad in the Premier League this season, level with Newcastle, when measured by minutes played.

Managers are usually judged leniently in their first season. The logic goes: wait until they've had one or two windows to bring in their own players before making a proper assessment. By that measure, Villa's predominantly Spanish football department has been strangely quiet.

The early promise of using their La Liga connections - think Alex Moreno, Pau Torres - has seemingly dried up quickly.

Instead, 'wow factor' high-wage loanees like Marcus Rashford, Marco Asensio and Jadon Sancho have provided short-term placebos for supporters to invest their hopes in.

While there is no room to unpack the lack of genuine squad evolution here, in light of a poor start to the season the bigger question lingers: has the lack of cohesive succession plan in building Emery's team simply left Villa stale and predictable?

Aston Villa

Image source, Getty Images

Back to Aston Villa, and former Premier League striker Clinton Morrison says Ollie Watkins has not got off the mark yet this season because he is "short on confidence" and his team-mates are not creating as many chances for him.

"I did not think he had been getting many chances, but against Sunderland he had a golden opportunity to win the game with a header and he completely missed it," said Morrison on BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast. "He is short on confidence and that happens with a striker.

"He hasn't been getting many chances because they haven't been creating many.

"That is probably because they have lost Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford, who were two players who did particularly well for them last season.

"Villa brought in Jadon Sancho and Harvey Elliott but they haven't started many games. They are the two players that need to get themselves into the team to create chances.

"The lack of confidence can be said for Morgan Rogers as well. They are both really struggling, even though we know they have the quality.

"I don't worry about Villa, though, because I still think they will climb the table and finish in the top half."

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That gives us a chance to open this preview out a bit.

We want to hear from fans of all the British clubs taking part in the Europa League this week - Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Celtic and Rangers.

What are your hopes and dreams for the competition?

Can you win it?

Do you expect to win it?

Get in touch using the Get Involved button at the top of the page.

Craig Nelson
BBC Sport reporter

If you have opened the page expecting to see coverage of Aston Villa manager Unai Emery's news conference, we understand that it will now be held at 14:00 BST, rather than 13:00, as it was initially advertised.

Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery was involved in choosing Roberto Olabe as Monchi's replacement.

Olabe is from Vitoria, part of the Basque Country in northern Spain, which is about 100 miles from Emery's hometown of Hondarribia.

He managed Real Union between 2011 and 2012, the team which Emery holds a controlling stake in and where his brother Igor is president.

While Monchi's departure comes at a time of poor results, it does not impact Emery's position and his influence on Olabe's arrival underlines that his position remains strong at Villa.

During Olabe's time at Sociedad they won the 2020 Copa del Rey, their first major silverware in 33 years.

They also bought Alexander Isak from Willem II and sold him to Newcastle for £63m in 2022, while Martin Zubimendi came through the club's academy before his £60m departure to Arsenal this summer.

The Gunners also signed Mikel Merino from Sociedad, while Olabe brought in Martin Odegaard on loan from Real Madrid the season before he moved to Emirates Stadium.

Olabe himself could have moved to Arsenal, with the Gunners interested in him when looking to replace Edu after he left as sporting director last year.

Wow, it's so clear Andy, when you put it like that. Clearly Unai Emery was made for Aston Villa and the Europa League!

Aston Villa

Image source, Getty Images

Aston Villa president of football operations Monchi is stepping down with former Real Sociedad sporting director Roberto Olabe replacing him.

Olabe, 57, spent seven years at Sociedad before leaving at the end of last season.

Monchi's exit was confirmed by Villa on Tuesday with the club 18th in the Premier League after a winless start to the season.

The Spaniard will remain in an advisory role, the club added.

"Firstly, I would like to thank Monchi for his hard work and invaluable contribution as president of football operations during an exciting period at Aston Villa," chairman Nassef Sawiris said.

"His commitment and vision has directly contributed to the club's recent successes, reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League as well as qualifying for Europe for three consecutive seasons.

"We are delighted that Roberto is joining Aston Villa. He has built a reputation as someone who can spot talent that can be developed and we look forward to supporting him to achieve the ambitions we have for V Sports and Aston Villa."

Aston Villa

The Monday Night Club panel considered Aston Villa's current troubles in the latest episode.

Click the play icon below to watch the discussion...

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Following last season’s exploits in which Aston Villa reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League, the start of this campaign has proved to be far more arduous.

Unai Emery’s side are yet to win a game in any competition in 2025-26, losing twice and drawing three times in the Premier League and exiting the EFL Cup on penalties to Brentford.

Villa’s biggest issue has been a failure to score goals. Matty Cash’s 67th-minute goal in the 1-1 draw at Sunderland last weekend was their first, and only, goal in the Premier League this season. It made Villa the last team in the top four tiers of English football to find the back of the net.

Villa are currently the worst side in the top flight for a host of attacking metrics, including shot conversion, while their expected goals tally is also the lowest in the Premier League – indicating that few chances are being created.

Image source, BBC Sport

So could the Europa League on Thursday night provide a welcome distraction?

The competition has been synonymous with the success of Emery’s career, winning a first major trophy in the competition with Sevilla in 2013-14.

Emery has won the Europa League four times in total – a record for any manager - while he also reached the 2019 final with Arsenal.

Overall he has managed 93 matches in the competition, losing just 14, with a win rate of 60%.

Can Villa defeat Serie A side Bologna at home tomorrow night to continue Emery’s excellent Europa record and kickstart their season?

Thumbs up for yes, thumbs down for no.