Having had a tough time domestically, that win at Lille gave us the kickstart we needed and has led to 3 wins out of 4. This included a 3-0 aggregate win against Lille in the last 16 of Europa League and a 2-0 home win over West Ham United.

Having endured a long break away with International fixtures, all of our Internationals have returned and are well. Jadon Sancho picked up a shoulder injury in a ‘behind the doors’ game but should be back in a few weeks.

The return of Captain John McGinn, who has scored in both the of wins at Villa Park in Europe and Premier League has given the team and the supporters such a boost. Youri Tielemans has returned too and his creative spark will bolster the attack.

This is our third successive season in the Quarter Finals of a European Competition and the 3rd time we have reached this stage of this particular competition- previously known as the Uefa Cup (1978 & 1998).

Standing in our way for the Semi-Finals is a return clash with Italian side Bologna. We played them at Villa Park in last season’s Champions League, winning 2-0. A McGinn goal  was enough to repeat the win in our opening game of this season’s Europa League.

Since then Bologna have remained unbeaten in the competition. After finishing 10th in the league stage they saw off Norwegian side Brann (2-0 agg) in the play-offs and beat fellow Italian side AS Roma in the last 16, after a see saw battle which saw them go through 5-4 on aggregate after a 4-3 extra time win in Rome.

Their league campaign has been tough, they currently stand at 8th, and this competition is realistically their only chance of qualifying for European Football next season. They have endured difficult form at home this campaign but have been very impressive on the road.

We have of course done well on our travels in Europe, winning 4 out of 5 matches away from Villa Park.

Our possible opponents for the Semi-Final are Portuguese giants Porto or fellow English representatives Nottingham Forest.

We have an equally huge game at Forest this Sunday in the league, with us at 4th, 6 points clear of 6th place Chelsea. A 5th place finish in the Premier League will once again be good enough to play in the Champions League next season.

We want to get there and create more special moments at Villa Park in European competitions. We are all feeling that the long wait for a major trophy may soon be coming to an end.

To achieve this we all must be supportive, get behind the team and all of us together, fight like Lions!

UTV!