Can Samuel Iling-Junior play against Aston Villa? Champions League rule explained ahead of Bologna clash

Samuel Iling-Junior could make his first appearance at Villa Park as a Bologna player after being named in their travelling squad to take on Aston Villa in the Champions League on Tuesday night (8pm).

He joined the Serie A side on loan for the season back in August despite joining Villa on a permanent deal from Juventus in June. But he will be allowed to feature against Villa on Tuesday because unlike in the Premier League, UEFA competitions permit players to feature against their parent clubs.

Iling-Junior missed Bologna's last match with Genoa, which was a 2-2 draw, and is yet to start for the Italian club. He scored in the draw with Como and has featured in both of the club's Champions League league phase games against Shakhtar and Liverpool.

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Speaking of his loan move away from Villa earlier in the season, iling-Junior said: "I spoke to the manager and I understood that there wasn’t much space for me and since I appreciate honesty I preferred to look for a team where I could have more chances.

"Here in Bologna there is a great project, as I had already seen last year. In the summer I moved to Aston Villa then came the offer from Bologna, a city that I like with a manager that I respect and I decided to come here. I was already struck by the environment, the fans last year, and I liked it a lot."

Bologna's squad vs Villa...

Goalkeepers: Bagnolini, Ravaglia, Skorupski.

Defenders: Beukema, Casale, Corazza, Holm, Lucumi, Lykogiannis, Miranda, Posch.

Midfielders: Fabbian, Freuler, Moro, Pobega, Urbanski.

Forwards: Castro, Dallinga, Iling-Junior, Ndoye, Odgaard, Orsolini.

What is your Villa vs Bologna score prediction? Tell us here

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