Italiano asks Bologna for special ‘birthday gift’ against Celta Vigo

Vincenzo Italiano reveals the ‘birthday present’ he asked his Bologna players for as they go into a Europa League clash with Celta Vigo, but there are more injury problems.

It kicks off at the Abanca Balaidos on Thursday at 20.00 GMT.

There is only one point separating them in the Europa League table going into this match, which reflects how well the Rossoblu have done so far in the competition.

It is also a special occasion for their coach, as Italiano celebrates his 48th birthday today.

“I asked the lads for a birthday present, which is to leave here with heads held high,” Italiano told Sky Sport Italia.

“After a complicated start in the tournament, we began to rack up points, and tomorrow we are up against in my view the team other than Aston Villa who have the most quality in the Europa League.

“It’s going to be very tough, they are fresh off a victory against Real Madrid, so are brimming with confidence, but we are well prepared and will try to add more points to our tally. We must try to give our best and the lads who play will give their all.”

There are problems for Bologna, as Nicolò Casale joined Martin Vitik, Remo Freuler and Lukasz Skorupski on the treatment table, while Jhon Lucumi is nowhere near fully fit between tendonitis and flu symptoms.

“We have a bit of an emergency in defence, we’ll see for Lucumi tomorrow, Heggem is doing overtime to fill in. We tried Lykogiannis as a central defender too,” explained Italiano.

“The lads are intelligent and mature, so whoever plays there will do their best.”

Bologna and Celta Vigo are both aiming to secure a play-off spot early before the Europa League resumes for the final two games in January.

“It is not a decisive match, but failing to get points will force us to push really hard in the next games. Nothing can ever be taken for granted in Europe, the important thing is that we put in a great performance.

“It’s not easy playing every three to four days, but travelling around Europe to face teams of this calibre is a privilege, and we’ve got to remember that.”