AC Milan and Bologna meet at the San Siro in Friday night’s Italian Serie A clash before facing off again in the Coppa Italia final a few days later. Only five points separate both teams as they make a push for the European places. A keenly contested affair is anticipated here with goals expected.
Milan come into this clash in strong form, having won four of their last five matches in all competitions. Sergio Conceicao’s team claimed a 2-1 victory at Genoa in their previous Serie A fixture.
While things are looking up for AC Milan, their home form still needs improvement, having won just once in the last five matches at San Siro. At the heart of these problems is a defensive vulnerability that has seen them fail to keep a clean sheet in their last five home matches across all competitions.
Bologna’s fine campaign rolls on after playing out a 1-1 home draw with Juventus, which kept them firmly in the race for a top-four finish. Now unbeaten in 11 of their last 12 matches across all competitions, Vincenzo Italiano’s men are just one point off the top four.
Defensive lapses have been a problem for Bologna on their travels, having failed to keep a clean sheet in five of their last eight away matches. However, their attack more than makes up for those lapses as they have scored in eight of their last 10 Serie A matches.
How the bookies view it: Bookies backing Milan
AC Milan have been backed as favourites among the bookies, with BoyleSports offering odds of 13/10 for a home win. A victory for Bologna is valued at 17/10 while a draw has been set at 23/10.
Head to head: Milan on top
AC Milan have a 31-7 advantage with 11 draws from 49 previous matches against Bologna. However, the visitors claimed a 2-1 home victory in the reverse fixture.
Players to watch: Dependable Leao
Rafael Leao has looked sharp for AC Milan in the last few weeks, scoring in two of the last four Serie A matches. He was also on target in the reverse fixture and is priced at 11/4 by BoyleSports to find the net.
Riccardo Orsolini is Bologna top scorer with 14 goals in all competitions and will be the one to watch on Friday. The forward has five goals in his last nine Serie A matches and is priced at 5/2 by BoyleSports to find the net.
Probable line-ups
AC Milan will be without Tammy Abraham, Youssouf Fofana, Warren Bondo and Riccardo Sottil due to injuries. However, Christian Pulisic, Rafael Leao and Tijjani Reijnders are all expected to start.
Dan Ndoye, Estanis Pedrola, and Emil Holm are unavailable for Bologna due to knocks. However, Thijs Dallinga, Remo Freuler and Riccardo Orsolini are all expected to start.
AC Milan: Maignan, Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic, Jimenez, Fofana, Loftus-Cheek, Hernandez, Pulisic, Reijnders, Jovic
Bologna: Skorupski, Miranda, Lukumi, Beukema, De Silvestri, Freuler, Ferguson, Cambiaghi, Odgaard, Orsolini, Dallinga
Anything else catch the eye?
Both teams have scored in three of the last four meetings and a similar outcome is expected at 7/10 with BoyleSports. Four of AC Milan’s last six games have produced over 2.5 goals and with the last two matches against Bologna offering up a similar outcome, a repeat is expected at 10/11 on BoyleSports.
There have been goals in each half in four of AC Milan's last six matches and that trend is likely to continue.
This Serie A match between AC Milan and Bologna will be played on and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best AC Milan vs Bologna prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
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