With four teams having a game in hand on the rest in Serie A, there are two fixtures to look forward to this mid-week. Juventus take on Crotone, which should see a comfortable win for the league leaders against the team in 19th place. However, the most intriguing match takes place at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara, as Bologna host AC Milan.
This is a huge match for Milan and their manager, Vincenzo Montella. Towards the end of 2016, there was a feeling Milan could be about to return to the top of Italian football. Having defeated Juventus at the San Siro in the league and won the Italian Super Cup, beating the Old Lady on penalties following a 1-1 draw, Milan looked full of confidence and capable of challenging for the Champions League qualifying positions.
However, since the 1-0 win against Cagliari on the 8th January, Milan have failed to win a game in Serie A and crashed out of the Coppa Italia to Juventus. In Serie A, Milan have drawn one and lost three of their last four games, with the three defeats coming in succession following the point at Torino. The three defeats have come at home to Napoli and Sampdoria, 1-2 and 0-1 respectively and away to Udinese, which was a 1-2 defeat. While not big defeats in terms of the score line, they have each put a dent in any hopes Milan had of finishing in the top three this season. Another defeat in this match, will certainly put an end to the thought of Champions League football next season.
Bologna manager, Roberto Donadoni has a massive task on his hands, as the former Italian international tries to pick up his players following their heavy 7-1 home defeat to Napoli. It was an incredible loss for Bologna, who had previously gone three matches unbeaten in Serie A, winning against Crotone and Torino and drawing at Cagliari. Bologna had only lost one of their previous six matches in Serie A prior to their humbling by Napoli and moved up the table, leaving themselves well clear of the relegation zone. This defeat will have hurt the players and manager badly, so perhaps it’s a good thing they have another game coming around so quickly, against a team who have been struggling.
Bologna have drawn only two of eleven home Serie A games this season and Milan have drawn two of ten away league games, meaning a draw seems like the most unlikely result. However, three of the last six Serie A meetings between these teams at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara have ended in a draw and Bologna have failed to win any of the last ten, with their latest victory coming back in 2001/02.
Bologna are going to be wary of conceding goals in this game, which could result in them putting numbers behind the ball and asking Milan to break them down. Prior to the 7 goals conceded against Napoli, Bologna had one of the best defensive records in the league.