Hoping to end an historic year on a high, Bologna will welcome Hellas Verona to Stadio Renato Dall'Ara on Monday.
The Rossoblu qualified for the Champions League last term and are on track for Europe this season; meanwhile, Verona are facing a familiar fight for Serie A survival.
Match preview
© Imago
Second-half strikes from Thijs Dallinga and Tommaso Pobega secured a second straight win for Bologna just before Christmas, when they followed an impressive 1-0 defeat of high-flying Fiorentina with success in Turin.
The Emilian side had more of the ball and several more attempts on target than Torino at Stadio Olimpico Grande, fully meriting maximum points.
Having previously drawn with Juventus and Benfica, after beating Venezia and Monza - the latter win took them through to the Coppa Italia quarter-finals - Bologna are enjoying their best spell of the season.
Unbeaten in their last 11 league fixtures at the Dall'Ara - keeping a clean sheet in each of the last four - Vincenzo Italiano's men are proving that last term's fifth-placed finish under Thiago Motta was no flash in the pan.
With a game in hand on many of their rivals, the Rossoblu are close behind Italy's top six and will be intent on securing more European football for next year.
Ahead of their Monday night meeting with Verona, they have come out on top twice in the clubs' last two encounters: a pair of 2-0 wins in league and cup, both of which were played on home turf.
© Imago
In fact, Hellas have prevailed on just two of their last 15 top-flight visits to Bologna, coming away empty-handed on nine occasions.
Furthermore, the last time Verona won their final game of a calendar year in Serie A was way back in 2013; since then, they have taken only three points from seven matches.
History will not be on their side, then, as they attempt to inch away from the drop zone following last week's home defeat to AC Milan. That was the Gialloblu's 20th league loss of 2024, already surpassing an unwanted club record that they actually equalled last year.
Current coach Paolo Zanetti has been unable to break Verona's losing habit since arriving in the summer, while his side have conceded at least once in all of their last 14 league matches and own Serie A's worst defensive record.
Other clubs at the bottom of the table have recently parted company with their managers, but Zanetti remains in post for now and must repay such faith sooner rather than later.
Team News
© Imago
After a rare week of rest amid domestic and Champions League commitments, Vincenzo Italiano will name his strongest available side on Monday evening, when first-choice wingers Dan Ndoye and Riccardo Orsolini could return to the starting lineup.
Bologna's injury list has significantly shortened of late, with Juan Miranda also back in action, but Michel Aebischer again joins long-term absentees Nicolo Cambiaghi and Oussama El Azzouzi on the sidelines.
Set to beat Thijs Dallinga to selection up front, Santiago Castro has been directly involved in seven league goals this season, leading to plenty of speculation about the young striker's future.
Meanwhile, Verona will be missing Juan Cruz, Martin Frese and recent ACL victim Abdou Harroui, while there are doubts about the fitness of Pawel Dawidowicz and Amin Sarr.
If Sarr is ruled out, Casper Tengstedt could lead the visitors' attack, with support from Tomas Suslov and Darko Lazovic: to date, the latter has provided five assists against Bologna in Serie A - three coming at the Dall'Ara.
Bologna possible starting lineup:
Skorupski; Holm, Beukema, Lucumi, Miranda; Freuler, Pobega; Orsolini, Odgaard, Ndoye; Castro
Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:
Montipo; Daniliuc, Coppola, Ghilardi; Tchatchoua, Duda, Belahyane, Lazovic; Kastanos, Suslov; Tengstedt
We say: Bologna 2-0 Hellas Verona
Bologna's good run should continue until their final fixture of 2024, as Verona are ill-equipped to deal with the Rossoblu's attacking options.
One of the most consistent teams in Serie A will take care of business against the league's least effective defence, signing off a memorable year in style.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
