Forest’s Jesus eyes Europa League dream, Villa brace for Bologna test

Nottingham Forest may be fighting for Premier League survival this term but Thursday’s trip to Porto for their Europa League quarter-final first leg offers top goalscorer Igor Jesus and his team-mates the chance to put relegation woes to one side as they chase a first continental title in 46 years.

If manager Vitor Pereira seems to be prioritising Forest’s top-flight status over their first season in European competition since 1995/96 — resting several regular starters for their last 16 shoot-out win over Midtjylland — the Europa League has been the stage Forest have performed best on this season.

This is no more true of any Red than Igor Jesus, who arrived at the City Ground from Brazilian side Botafogo in the close-season.

The 25-year-old forward has found the net on just three occasions in 30 Premier League matches this campaign, but he has lit up the Europa League on Thursday nights, sitting level as the competition’s top scorer with seven goals.

“Getting to the final and winning the Europa League would be a dream come true, especially as the top scorer,” Igor Jesus told UEFA’s website on Tuesday.

However, the 2024 Copa Libertadores winner is keenly aware that their last-eight opponents, Porto, will be a stern test of their credentials.

“Porto have got a great team,” he said. “They’ve got a lot of quality. We’ve also got quality. We know it won’t be an easy game — in fact, it’ll be really tough. However, we’re willing to fight.”

Igor Jesus added Forest will go into Thursday’s first leg at the Estadio do Dragao “really focused and looking for a positive result” to take home and defend for next week’s second leg.

If Forest are struggling in 16th place in the Premier League, three points above the drop zone, Porto, on the other hand, are sitting pretty at the top of the Portuguese Primeira Liga.

The English side can nonetheless comfort themselves with the fact that they have been the only team to beat Porto in Europe this term — winning 2-0 at home on matchday three of the league phase courtesy of Morgan Gibbs-White and Igor Jesus spot-kicks.

Fellow Premier League outfit Aston Villa face a difficult trip to Coppa Italia winners Bologna in their quarter-final first leg.

With Unai Emery’s charges having fallen off the title race domestically, the Europa League is now their only realistic chance of tasting silverware this season.

If there is a man to guide Villa to a first trophy since 2001, it is Emery and that competition would be the Europa League.

The Basque has won the tournament four times in his coaching career and has now guided Villa to three consecutive quarter-final appearances in the Europa League and Champions League.

Villa captain John McGinn said after his team booked their last-eight spot this time around, with a 3-0 aggregate victory over Lille, that “they want more now”.

“We need to take it one game at a time and keep pushing on, all the way,” the Scot added.

But Bologna, on the back of downing more-fancied opponents in Roma in the last round, have their eyes fixed on engineering another upset.

“We face Aston Villa again, a team we’ve faced twice (both losses) in the last two seasons. We will be the underdogs again but we will try to surprise again,” Bologna boss Vincenzo Italiano said after the 5-4 aggregate win, which booked their spot in the last eight.

In the other quarter-final first legs, La Liga’s Real Betis travel up the Iberian Peninsula to take on Portuguese side Braga on Wednesday, while Bundesliga club Freiburg welcome Spaniards Celta Vigo the following day.

Crystal Palace’s home clash with Fiorentina is the most eye-catching of the UEFA Conference League last eight first legs, which will also take place on Thursday.

Rayo Vallecano welcome AEK Athens, Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk host Dutch side AZ Alkmaar in the Polish city of Krakow and Strasbourg travel to Mainz in the first legs of the other quarter-final ties.