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After a long break for the Villa and a totally uninspiring international campaign for Tuchel’s England, it’s time to get back to business in Claret & Blue. I read someone make a really good analysis calling this the first game of our “mini-season” which will have a large impact on our summer and subsequently next season, and I quite like that analysis, because it’s true, we need to qualify for Champions League one way or another or else I anticipate more financial problems, not that they won’t probably emerge anyway.

Team news tomorrow means Sancho misses out due to a shoulder injury picked up in the 2-1 loss at Elche, and the obvious miss of Boubacar Kamara. Bologna have various injuries from what I can see, how vital they may be, I do not know as I do not watch enough Italian football. All I know is that we should be beating them comfortably across two legs, and we must get off on the right track tomorrow evening – but that goes without saying, of course.

To be honest, not to sound over-confident, I think we can afford to rest some players in preparation for...