Serie A Preview: Milan vs Bologna – Team News, Line-ups & Prediction | OneFootball

Stadio San Siro forms the backdrop for a high-stakes Serie A encounter between Coppa Italia finalists Milan and Bologna. Friday’s showdown seems like an ideal opportunity for both teams to gauge one another and land an early psychological blow.

Milan continued to juggle with fans’ nerves under Sergio Conceicao in their latest Serie A outing. Indeed, the Rossoneri had to fight back from a second-half deficit to beat bottom-half Genoa on Monday as a two-minute blitz inspired by Rafael Leao saw them scoop up three points at Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

That 2-1 triumph marked Milan’s second in a row in Serie A, meaning they’ll be out to post three consecutive league victories for the first time since September. However, that may not them do much good as far as their top-six aspirations are concerned, with sixth-placed Lazio six points away ahead of the final three rounds.

Unlike Milan, Bologna remain firmly in contention for a second successive top-four finish despite a 1-1 home draw against Juventus last time out. Vincenzo Italiano’s charges languish a point adrift of the fourth-placed Bianconeri, even though they commence this matchday outside the European qualification spots.

That should be a sufficient motive for Bologna to return to winning ways after back-to-back league stalemates. Indeed, after dining out at Europe’s top table for the first time since 1964/65 this term, the Rossoblu can recreate that experience, yet a margin for error is down to a bare minimum.

Match Preview

Milan

The ignominy of missing out on European qualification has become a realistic prospect for Milan unless they conquer Coppa Italia glory for the first time since 2003. Despite the club’s gigantic efforts in the transfer market, the 19-time Italian champions will likely have to settle for finishing outside the top six in Serie A for the first time since 2015/16.

Therefore, building momentum ahead of next week’s final is Conceicao’s priority, especially now that his future at San Siro is at stake. There’s a broad belief he will not be in the Milan dugout next term, no matter the outcome at Stadio Olimpico. Nonetheless, it would be nice to walk away with another trophy.

Meanwhile, Milan’s recent home form offers a note of caution. The hosts have gone winless in nine of their last 13 home league matches (W4, D6, L3), including a narrow 1-0 defeat to Atalanta in their most recent such contest. Furthermore, Milan and Bologna shared the spoils in an intense 2-2 draw in this corresponding fixture last term, casting further doubt on the home team’s hopes of getting into the win column here.

Bologna

Spirits should be high around Bologna’s camp, even though they haven’t tasted victory at Milan’s home ground in Serie A since January 2016. Italiano’s side squeezed past Milan 2-1 in February’s reverse fixture and can now pull off their first league double over the Rossoneri in 85 years. That’s an added incentive for the Rossoblu to defy their recent downturn.

Despite only losing once across their last ten league games (W6, D3), they’ve emerged victorious from just one of their past five Serie A clashes (D3, L1). This is not the time for Bologna to start faltering. Unfortunately, their recent traveling record makes for bleak reading, with the visitors only winning two of their last eight away league matches (D4, L2).

Slow out of the blocks, Bologna failed to get on the scoresheet before halftime in nine of their last 11 outings in Serie A. Avoiding another sluggish start will be imperative, given that they’ve lost six out of eight away league meetings with Milan since last winning at San Siro (D2).

Team News

Milan welcomed Tammy Abraham back to the squad during midweek, but Luka Jovic should still get the nod in attack. Meanwhile, Emerson Royal has recovered from a long-term knee injury and will challenge Alejandro Jimenez and Kyle Walker for a place in the starting line-up. Therefore, only Warren Bondo and Riccardo Sottil are unavailable for selection.

On the other hand, Bologna cannot call upon several first-team aces, including Dan Ndoye and Emil Holm. Holm’s absence should open the door to ex-Milan captain Davide Calabria to start on the right flank. There had been a question mark over Jens Odgaard’s head, but the Dane should be fit and ready.

Milan vs Bologna Potential Starting Line-ups

Milan (3-4-2-1): Maignan; Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic; Jimenez, Loftus-Cheek, Reijnders, Hernandez; Pulisic, Felix; Jovic.

Bologna (4-2-3-1): Skorupski; Calabria, Beukema, Lucumi, Miranda; Freuler, Ferguson; Orsolini, Odgaard, Cambiaghi; Dallinga.

Milan vs Bologna Prediction

An early deficit shouldn’t knock Milan off their perch, as they’ve won a league-high 19 points from losing positions this season. Bologna did well in the reverse fixture to turn things around, but we back the Rossoneri to repay the favor here.