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

Stadio Renato Dall’Ara forms the backdrop for a high-stakes Serie A showdown between European hopefuls Bologna and Milan. After awful weather conditions postponed this fixture earlier in the season, the two underperforming sides will renew hostilities in troubled times.

Vincenzo Italiano blasted match officials for a dubious penalty that saw Parma take a 1-0 lead against Bologna last weekend. Though the Rossoblu conceded from a controversial spot-kick in a 2-0 defeat at Stadio Ennio Tardini, it’s fair to say their performance failed to impress.

As such, Bologna wasted a glorious opportunity to leapfrog Fiorentina into sixth. However, with a point separating them from Raffaele Palladino’s charges ahead of the kick-off, beating Milan would catapult the home team into the European qualification zone.

That could prove easier said than done. Level on points with Bologna, Sergio Conceicao’s men still harbor slim hopes of closing an eight-point gap on fourth-placed Juventus. Therefore, taking three points in Emilia-Romagna is imperative.

Anything other than victory in this game in hand would significantly derail Milan’s chances of securing a fifth consecutive top-four finish in Serie A. Those ambitions took a hit last Saturday as bottom-half Torino beat the Rossoneri 2-1, courtesy of two bizarre strikes.

Conceicao slammed his team for conceding from ‘unforced errors’ as he started to feel the heat. Indeed, Milan’s season spiraled into chaos last week, with Feyenoord knocking them out of the Champions League playoff round days before a dismal result 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 blank in that run. Furthermore, that was their first competitive loss of 2025 (W5, D5).

However, the hosts can take heart from their formidable league form at Renato Dall’Ara. A 3-2 victory against Torino a fortnight ago saw them post a sixth win across their last eight Serie A outings on home turf (D1, L1), making it three triumphs in a row on this ground.

Though five of those six wins came against bottom-half opposition, they also defeated higher-ranked Fiorentina 1-0. That should set Bologna up nicely for this encounter as they seek their first home victory against Milan in Serie A since 2002.

Milan

Milan’s dominant league form at Renato Dall’Ara is perhaps the only silver lining ahead of this trip. Indeed, their away form this season has been bleak, best illustrated by a poor record of one league win at teams to have scooped up 30+ points after the first 25 rounds (D1, L4).

Even that lone success came inside the familiar walls of the San Siro as they beat Inter 2-1 in mid-September. However, there’s nothing pretty about their recent road form. Except for a 2-0 win at Empoli earlier this month, Milan have lost four of their last five competitive away games.

With Milan failing to score more than once in those four defeats, traveling fans would be forgiven for awaiting this clash with trepidation. Hope stems from Rossoneri’s free-scoring run at Bologna as they bagged 2+ goals on four of their last five Serie A visits to this ground.

Team News

Emil Holm is the only high-profile absentee in Bolgona’s camp after Jens Odgaard returned from injury. Former Milan stars Tommaso Pobega and Davide Calabria are in contention for the starting line-up. The same goes for Rossoneri’s January target, Riccardo Orsolini.

On the other hand, this fixture will come too soon for Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Kyle Walker. Long-term absentees Alessandro Florenzi and Emerson Royal are also unavailable. With the English defender still on the sidelines with a muscle injury, Alex Jimenez could start on the right flank.

Bologna vs Milan Potential Starting 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 much for either side, especially Milan, who desperately need three points to rekindle their faltering top-four quest. However, Italiano’s men have proved hard to beat on home turf this season.

Despite Bologna’s notoriously disappointing home league record against Milan, this feels like a prime opportunity for the hosts to defy history and return to the win column.