Bologna will be up against Inter Milan in the Serie A encounter at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara on the 27th of April. Seeking to grow closer to a successful defence of their Serie A title, Inter Milan will face Bologna in a match that was postponed from earlier this year.
Inter Milan defeated Roma on Saturday to record a fourth league win on the bounce, and that victory temporarily took them to the top of the standings. However, neighbours and arch rivals AC Milan reclaimed their position at the top of the table with another gritty win over capital club Lazio. Milan continued to have a two-point lead over Inter at the top of the table, however, the Nerazzurri have a game in hand.
Denzel Dumfries and Marcelo Brozovic put Inter Milan ahead in the first half against Jose Mourinho’s side. Lautaro Martinez, who is on a resurgent run of form, then scored in the second half to put Roma out of their misery.
Inter Milan dealt a fatal blow to AS Roma’s 12-match unbeaten run and Simone Inzaghi’s men will be full of morale, especially after blowing away Milan in the Coppa Italia semi-final. They secured a 3-0 victory in the second leg to storm their way into the final against Juventus.
Ahead of their showdown against the site from Turin in the final of Coppa Italia, the Nerazzurri continue to have the fate of the Scudetto in their own hands. They are still within touching distance of Milan at the top and have the advantage of an extra game.
Simone Inzaghi’s side is potentially five games away from retaining their Serie A title. For now, the focus will be on Bologna and a win away from home will take them back to the top of the table, with Milan set to play catch-up later in the weekend.
Having breezed past their most difficult opponents this season, Inzaghi’s men will be aware of not resting on their laurels as a gentle part of the season rolls in. Following this clash, they will be up against Udinese, Empoli, and Cagliari before the curtains are drawn on their season with a home match against Sampdoria next month.
Inter Milan will also be confident as they annihilated Bologna 6-1 in the September reverse fixture at the San Siro. The home side have also failed to defeat Inter in the last 15 meetings at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, losing on 12 occasions in the process. Both history and form will be with the Milanese side as they visit the town on Wednesday.
Sinisa Mihajlovic, who was once an Inter player and also the assistant to former manager Roberto Mancini, has kept tabs on his side from afar in recent weeks as he continues to undergo treatment for leukaemia. He is bound to be impressed by how the team has stepped up in his absence. Following Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Udinese, Bologna are now unbeaten in their last four matches and the inconsistency that the Club had faced earlier this season is now seemingly coming to a close.
This is their longest league run without suffering a defeat since the beginning of last year. Bologna have also held Juventus and Milan to stalemates and they also defeated Sampdoria 2-0 during this spell. They are gunning for a safe mid-table spot and will be hoping to capitalize on this wonderful run of form with a massive result against defending champions and title contenders Inter Milan.
Promising wing-back Aaron Hickey and substitute Nicolas Sansone helped Bologna score twice against Udinese in their previous match. They coped well without their star forward Marko Arnautovic this weekend.
The former Inter Milan striker was suspended for the previous clash. He had found the back of the net in each of Bologna’s previous six domestic league goals. The last time someone got on the scoresheet, besides the fixture with Udinese, was in January. Expected to be back in action for this heavyweight encounter, there’s nothing better that Arnautovic would want than to get one over on his old club.
BOL vs INT, Serie A 2021/22
Date: 27th April, 2022
Time: 11:45 PM IST
Venue: Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, Bologna
FORM GUIDE:
Bologna Serie A form:
- L-L-D-W-D-D
Bologna form (all competitions):
- L-L-D-W-D-D
Inter Milan Serie A form:
- D-D-W-W-W-W
Inter Milan form (all competitions):
- D-W-W-W-W-W
HEAD-TO-HEAD:
Bologna wins: 53
Draws: 41
Inter Milan wins: 90
BOL vs INT TEAM NEWS:
Bologna Team News: Compared to the team that stepped on, stepped out to the field on Sunday against Udinese. Bologna will be strengthened against Inter Milan. Marko Arnautovic and Adama Soumaoro all served suspensions in the previous clash and are expected to return for this game. That was also the case with ex Inter man Gary Medel who is awaiting the verdict of an appeal and it remains to be seen whether he can appear in this match.
Marko Arnautovic will slot straight into the starting XI and into the heart of the frontline. This could see either Riccardo Orsolini or Musa Barrow get relegated to the bench instead. Meanwhile, Soumaoro and Medel are expected to strengthen the backline if they’re eventually available.
Midfielder Kingsley Michael continues to recover from his injury and therefore he won’t be rushed for this clash. On the other hand, Nicolas Sansone will be hoping that his goal in the previous match is enough to warrant him a place in the starting XI, along with Arnautovic.
Inter Milan Team News: Inter Milan head coach Simone Inzaghi is all set to welcome veteran midfielder Arturo Vidal back into the side following a knee injury. However, the presence of attacking wingback Robin Gosens has been rendered doubtful following a muscular problem.
In his absence, Ivan Perisic is expected to continue on the left flank for the visitors. If Gosens regains some fitness, he is expected to be starting from the bench with Inzaghi unwilling to risk him from the very first minute of the match. Gosens has also regularly featured as a substitute since joining Inter from Atlanta during the winter transfer window.
Matteo Darmian and might be a contender to feature on the right flank. However, Denzel Dumfries remains the favorite and he was also on the scoresheet in the previous match against Roma. Therefore, Simone Inzaghi could also enter this game with an unchanged XI.
Bologna possible starting lineup:
Skorupski; Soumaoro, Bonifazi, Theate; Hickey, Dominguez, Schouten, Soriano, Dijks; Barrow, Arnautovic
Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Handanovic; De Vrij, Skriniar, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Brozovic, Calhanoglu, Perisic; Martinez, Dzeko
Predictions:
Bologna are going through a hot streak at the moment and having held both AC Milan and Juventus to draws, they will back be backing themselves of getting a confident result against Inter Milan here. The hosts are also unlikely to surrender and give up in the manner that they did the last time they faced enter this season, where they ended up losing by a five-goal margin.
With that being said, Inter continue to be the favorites to win this clash thanks to their run of form as well as the quality across positions. They have also enough options on the bench to threaten Bologna in the second 45.
BOL vs INT Fantasy XI No. 1
BOL vs INT Fantasy XI No. 2
