Coppa Italia Final Preview: Milan vs Bologna – Team News, Line-ups & Prediction | OneFootball

Stadio Olimpico forms the backdrop for a mouth-watering 2024/25 Coppa Italia final between familiar foes Milan and Bologna. There’s more than just bragging rights and another piece of silverware at stake in the 43rd edition of this fixture at the most iconic Rome stadium.

For Milan, this is perhaps the simplest way to secure European football for next season. Despite hitting the ground running toward the end of a disappointing season for the Rossoneri, they can hardly hope to lock down a top-six finish in Serie A.

Sergio Conceicao had hoped to build a legacy at Stadio San Siro after achieving Supercoppa Italiana glory in his first two games in charge. However, his mission has failed, with Milan languishing four points behind fourth-placed Juventus with two games left.

Likely to miss out on Champions League qualification for the first time in five years, Milan will probably settle for a trophy they have only won five times during their illustrious history. Meanwhile, Bologna last won this competition in 1974.

That was also Bologna’s last top-tier silverware, while their only domestic honors since have been lower-league titles. Head coach Vincenzo Italiano is hellbent on rewriting the club’s history, which could also be a perfect audition for a Milan job.

Italiano is among several candidates to replace Conceicao in the dugout, even though the Rossoneri hierarchy remains undecided on their next manager. This final could help them make up their mind, with the Portuguese boss still confident of securing a lifeline at San Siro.

Milan Road to Coppa Italia Final

Milan commenced their Coppa Italia journey with a scintillating 6-1 rout of second-tier Sassuolo in the Round of 16 before dispatching bitter rivals Roma 3-1 in the quarter-finals. However, their sternest test was yet to come.

Inter Milan stood in their way in the semi-finals, but Conceicao’s side passed this Herculean task with flying colors. After a 1-1 first-leg draw, the Rossoneri dismantled Simone Inzaghi’s charges 3-0 in the return fixture as Luka Jovic’s brace set the foundation for this epic win.

As a result, Milan will fight for Coppa Italia glory for the first time since 2018. They last won this trophy in 2003 under Carlo Ancelotti, so motivation will be sky-high as they look to end a 22-year wait and add a sixth Coppa Italia title to their glittering trophy cabinet.

Bologna Road to Coppa Italia Final

It’s been plain sailing for Bologna so far. The Rossoblu got their cup campaign off to a flyer, demolishing Serie A basement boys Monza 4-0 in the last-16. Yet, they had to go to great lengths to overcome Atalanta in the following round as Santiago Castro’s late winner inspired them to a narrow 1-0 win in Bergamo.

Perennial bottom-half strugglers Empoli couldn’t cope with Bologna’s unrelenting desire to ascend the Coppa Italia throne in the semi-final. Indeed, Italiano’s side won both legs via an aggregate score of 5-1 to book their first appearance in the grand final in over 50 years.

Bologna haven’t contested this fixture since famously hoisting the title in the early 1970s, yet Italiano made himself familiar with title-deciding matches during his exciting managerial journey at Fiorentina.

Form

AC Milan

The Rossoneri pulled off their signature comeback under Conceicao to beat none other than Bologna 3-1 on Friday. Santiago Gimenez’s brace and Christian Pulisic’s 17th goal of the season saw Milan overhaul a second-half deficit, rendering Riccardo Orsolini’s curling strike meaningless.

In doing so, Milan posted their fourth consecutive victory in domestic action for the first time this season. They scored at least two goals in each win, suggesting they should avoid a third consecutive scoreless appearance in a Coppa Italia final after losing the last two showpiece events ‘to nil.’

Milan also avenged an identical defeat from February’s reverse fixture at Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, consolidating their intimidating head-to-head record against Bologna (W14, D4, L1). Therefore, the 19-time Italian champions should take the field in a buoyant mood.

Bologna

Friday’s defeat at San Siro knocked Bologna down from a four-game unbeaten streak (W2, D2) but also marked their third successive winless outing. Performing outside Dall’Ara has recently been problematic for Italiano’s side, as they’ve lost two of their last three away games (D1).

However, that shouldn’t deter the 47-year-old from finally wrapping his hands around a major accolade. Italiano reached the Coppa Italia final with Fiorentina in 2022/23, only to be beaten by Inter. Furthermore, he lost back-to-back UEFA Conference League finals in the last two years.

Defensive resilience could be key to Bologna’s potential success in the capital. Adding to this sentiment, six of the last nine Coppa Italia finals have seen one side fail to get on the scoresheet. Yet they’ve conceded multiple goals in four of their last six meetings with Milan.

Team News

Winter arrivals Riccardo Sottil and Warren Bondo are still on the sidelines for Milan. Youssouf Fofana and Fikayo Tomori have trained separately from the group these past few days. However, Conceicao remains ‘optimistic’ about having them back for this clash via MilanNews.

On the other hand, Bologna are still without Emil Holm, Dan Ndoye, and Jens Odgaard. All three were missing on Friday. Italiano lost experienced center-back Martin Erlic midway through the first half, and Jhon Lucumi, who took his place, should start on Wednesday.

Milan vs Bologna Potential Starting Line-ups

Milan (3-4-2-1): Maignan; Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic; Jimenez, Fofana, Reijnders, Hernandez; Pulisic, Leao; Gimenez.

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

Milan vs Bologna Prediction

This one is tough to predict.

Milan desperately need this trophy to give devastated fans something to cheer for, while it’s needless to emphasize Bologna’s desire to climb the podium. However, Milan’s recent dominance in this match-up makes us believe they should leave Italiano empty-handed again.