The five key battles that could win or lose the Coppa Italia for Milan vs. Bologna | OneFootball

AC Milan and Bologna are facing off for the second time in a week tonight, and there are five battles of note that could be decisive.

The league games have not been able to show us the differences between these two teams, with both teams winning a game each and the games themselves being rather even in scoreline. However, that all goes out of the window here.

A cup final that means more than words do justice to both teams awaits, and both teams will probably give that little bit more, desperate for their own successes. So without further ado, it is better to jump straight into the potential deciders.

Milan vs. Bologna: The five key battles

The first major battle of the game involves Rafael Leao and Davide Calabria, who are far from strangers. Since leaving in January, the Italian has been a regular at right-back, and was rested by Vincenzo Italiano for this game specifically.

Both know each others strengths and weaknesses, having faced in training more times than can be counted on both hands. However, knowing and keeping up is a completely different thing. Leao will be looked to heavily in this game you would imagine, and the Portuguese will hope to punish his former teammate, which he is very capable of doing.

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A battle of note in the midfield will be between Lewis Ferguson and Youssouf Fofana. Both midfielders have the freedom to roam a little, whilst also having defensive roles, so of course there will be limitations.

However, both provide a danger to the opposition in all phases of the game – whether that be stopping or creating attacks. If either makes a mistake of note, you would imagine it could have a big impact on the game, so both need to be perfect for their respective teams.

Following this, Alex Jimenez will have a tough game on the right hand side, both when attacking and defending. However, the fact that Dan Ndoye is set to start here could mean he is forced to play a more defensive game.

There are few wingers as dangerous as the Swissman in Serie A, and if allowed a bit of space, he can punish the Rossoneri with ease. Additionally, Juan Miranda’s likely inclusion at left-back will mean that Jimenez has to be defensively switched on, with both having the freedom to attack.

Despite failing to have much impact in Friday’s clash, it seems that Luka Jovic will again be selected from the start here, and he will have a tough game against Jhon Lucumi – who was benched ahead of this game, but played 60 minutes last week due to an injury.

Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

We have seen that Jovic can be fantastic in the right settings, but whether he will get those conditions here against Lucumi will be a challenge in itself. The Serb does only need one break to cause something, but he will have to be near his best to get that.

Finally, what could be the biggest battle of the game could be Tijjani Reijnders and Remo Freuler.

Looking at the past few games, Reijnders has only provided when Freuler has not been on the pitch, so he needs to break through this evening. Though the Swiss midfielder will likely be tasked solely with stopping Milan’s midfield star.

You fear if Reijnders is not too involved where the Rossoneri will break through from.