Stadio Renato Dall’Ara varieties the backdrop for a high-stakes Serie A showdown between European hopefuls Bologna and Milan. After terrible climate circumstances postponed this fixture earlier within the season, the 2 underperforming sides will renew hostilities in troubled occasions.
Vincenzo Italiano blasted match officers for a doubtful penalty that noticed Parma take a 1-0 lead in opposition to Bologna final weekend. Although the Rossoblu conceded from a controversial spot-kick in a 2-0 defeat at Stadio Ennio Tardini, it’s honest to say their efficiency didn’t impress.
As such, Bologna wasted an excellent alternative to leapfrog Fiorentina into sixth. Nevertheless, with a degree separating them from Raffaele Palladino’s prices forward of the kick-off, beating Milan would catapult the house crew into the European qualification zone.
That might show simpler stated than finished. Stage on factors with Bologna, Sergio Conceicao’s males nonetheless harbor slim hopes of closing an eight-point hole on fourth-placed Juventus. Due to this fact, taking three factors in Emilia-Romagna is crucial.
Something apart from victory on this recreation in hand would considerably derail Milan’s possibilities of securing a fifth consecutive top-four end in Serie A. These ambitions took successful final Saturday as bottom-half Torino beat the Rossoneri 2-1, courtesy of two weird strikes.
Conceicao slammed his crew for conceding from ‘unforced errors’ as he began to really feel the warmth. Certainly, Milan’s season spiraled into chaos final week, with Feyenoord knocking them out of the Champions League playoff spherical days earlier than a dismal end in Turin.
Match Preview
Bologna
The abovementioned loss at Parma rounded off Bologna’s topsy-turvy three-game spell in Serie A (W1, D1, L1), marking their second scoring clean in that run. Moreover, that was their first aggressive lack of 2025 (W5, D5).
Nevertheless, the hosts can take coronary heart from their formidable league kind at Renato Dall’Ara. A 3-2 victory in opposition to Torino a fortnight in the past noticed them publish a sixth win throughout their final eight Serie A outings on house turf (D1, L1), making it three triumphs in a row on this floor.
Although 5 of these six wins got here in opposition to bottom-half opposition, in addition they defeated higher-ranked Fiorentina 1-0. That ought to set Bologna up properly for this encounter as they search their first house victory in opposition to Milan in Serie A since 2002.
Milan
Milan’s dominant league kind at Renato Dall’Ara is maybe the one silver lining forward of this journey. Certainly, their away kind this season has been bleak, greatest illustrated by a poor file of 1 league win at groups to have scooped up 30+ factors after the primary 25 rounds (D1, L4).
Even that lone success got here contained in the acquainted partitions of the San Siro as they beat Inter 2-1 in mid-September. Nevertheless, there’s nothing fairly about their latest highway kind. Aside from a 2-0 win at Empoli earlier this month, Milan have misplaced 4 of their final 5 aggressive away video games.
With Milan failing to attain greater than as soon as in these 4 defeats, touring followers can be forgiven for awaiting this conflict with trepidation. Hope stems from Rossoneri’s free-scoring run at Bologna as they bagged 2+ targets on 4 of their final 5 Serie A visits to this floor.
Crew Information
Emil Holm is the one high-profile absentee in Bolgona’s camp after Jens Odgaard returned from harm. Former Milan stars Tommaso Pobega and Davide Calabria are in rivalry for the beginning line-up. The identical goes for Rossoneri’s January goal, Riccardo Orsolini.
Then again, this fixture will come too quickly for Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Kyle Walker. Lengthy-term absentees Alessandro Florenzi and Emerson Royal are additionally unavailable. With the English defender nonetheless on the sidelines with a muscle harm, Alex Jimenez may begin on the correct flank.
Bologna vs Milan Potential Beginning Line-ups
Bologna (4-2-3-1): Skorupski; Calabria, Beukema, Lucumi, Miranda; Freuler, Moro; Orsolini, Pobega, Ndoye; Castro.
Milan (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Jimenez, Tomori, Pavlovic, Hernandez; Fofana, Musah; Pulisic, Reijnders, Leao; Gimenez
Bologna vs Milan Prediction
A draw wouldn’t change a lot for both aspect, particularly Milan, who desperately want three factors to rekindle their faltering top-four quest. Nevertheless, Italiano’s males have proved laborious to beat on house turf this season.
Regardless of Bologna’s notoriously disappointing house league file in opposition to Milan, this seems like a chief alternative for the hosts to defy historical past and return to the win column.