The final fixture of Matchday 1 in Serie A comes from the San Siro on Monday night and I'm hoping to follow up on what was a successful weekend on the continent.
AC Milan vs Bologna (19:45)
AC Milan finished last season in style and they will be looking to carry their momentum into the new campaign when they meet Bologna at the San Siro on Monday night.
Stefano Pioli's side surged to a top-six finish by avoiding defeat in each of their final 12 Serie A assignments of last season.
Milan's mini-revival coincided with the return of Zlatan Ibrahimovic who's eye-catching displays brought some traditional swagger back to the Rossoneri's style of play.
The Swedish superstar scored against Shamrock Rovers in the Europa League last Thursday night and he will fancy his chances of making the net bulge when faced with a brittle Bologna backline.
Sinisha Mihajlovic's men have failed to keep a clean sheet across their last 33 Italian top-flight tussles and such defensive frailty does not bode well ahead of a San Siro curtain-raiser.
Indeed, there is little value in backing an outright AC Milan success at 1/2 with Bet 365, however, we can boost the price up to 5/6 via a Bet Builder by combining a home win alongside over three AC Milan corners and at least one Bologna card.
Pioli has steered his side to nine league wins at the last 12 attempts – avoiding defeat in all of those matches – and it's also worth noting that the men from Milan have scored two or more goals in 11 of their last 12 outings.
What's more, AC have prevailed in eight of their last nine bouts with Bologna and the Rossoneri have hit at least two goals across the last four showdowns at the San Siro.
With that in mind, I like the look of backing Milan to make a winning start to the season but I'm also happy to back the hosts to hit over three corners on Monday night.
AC Milan averaged 6.21 corners at the San Siro last season, while the Rossoblu conceded just under six corners per game on their travels last term, and given that Pioli's system focuses on width, four or more Milan corners should go close.
I'm also happy to add at least Bologna booking to the above-mentioned Bet Builder – the visitors averaged three cards per game on the road last season – and Monday night's match official, Federico La Penna, was dishing out over five cards per-game on average in Serie A last season.
Recommended Bet
- AC Milan To Win, AC Milan Over 3 Corners & Bologna Over 0 Cards – Bet Builder – 5/6 (Bet 365)
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Well in mate 👍