AC Milan vs Bologna

AC Milan will be looking to maintain momentum when they take on out-of-form Bologna in a tasty-looking Serie A match-up at San Siro.

Milan performed a sensational late comeback, overturning a 2-1 deficit beyond the 80th minute to topple Udinese 3-2 last weekend in a match marred by racial abuse of French goalkeeper Mike Maignan. But despite stretching their winning streak in Serie A to four games and making it six unbeaten overall (W5, D1), ‘I Rossoneri’ still lag seven points behind leaders Juventus, highlighting the significance of winning this match. Based on their formidable run of six wins in their last seven home league clashes against Bologna (D1) and a 2-0 win at Renato Dall’Ara at the start of 2023/24, that should be a mere formality. Moreover, Stefano Pioli’s men have won their last five home league fixtures via a combined score of 11-2, strengthening their hopes of putting ‘I Rossoblu’ to the sword again.

On the other hand, Bologna’s three-match scoring drought at San Siro in Serie A (D1, L2) paints a bleak picture as they take this trip desperate to arrest a three-match winless league streak (D1, L2), which plunged them to seventh in the table. But Thiago Motta’s men are still firmly in the race for a first top-four finish in Serie A this century, trailing fourth-placed Fiorentina by a single point. That sounds a bit bizarre, considering their dreadful form on hostile turf, with ‘I Rossoblu’ only winning one of their ten away league matches this season (D6, L3). On top of that, they’ve averaged just 0.9 goals per Serie A travel in 2023/24, casting further doubt on their bid to score their first top-flight goal at San Siro since July 2020.