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Bologna logo
Serie A | Gameweek 20
Apr 27, 2022 at 7.15pm UK
Stadio Renato Dall'Ara
Inter logo

Bologna
2 - 1
Inter Milan

Arnautovic (28'), Sansone (81')
Arnautovic (55')
FT(HT: 1-1)
Perisic (3')
Inzaghi (31'), Barella (56'), Dumfries (70'), Calhanoglu (79')

Preview: Bologna vs. Inter Milan - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Wednesday's Serie A clash between Bologna and Inter Milan, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Seeking to inch closer to a successful defence of their Serie A title, reigning champions Inter Milan visit Bologna on Wednesday night, in a match postponed from earlier this year.

They arrive at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara having enjoyed an excellent week in both league and cup, while their hosts posted a second successive draw at the weekend to go four games unbeaten.


Match preview

Inter Milan's Nicolo Barella celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates on April 9, 2022© Reuters

For a day, at least, Inter returned to the top of the Serie A standings after beating Roma on Saturday to record a fourth straight league win, but their city rivals Milan shot back to the summit with a gritty victory over another capital club, Lazio; taking a two-point lead.

Goals from Denzel Dumfries and Marcelo Brozovic put the Nerazzurri in control at half-time of their clash with the Giallorossi, and the recently resurgent Lautaro Martinez headed home after the interval to secure victory over the ex-Inter boss Jose Mourinho.

Ending Roma's 12-match unbeaten run capped a fine week for Simone Inzaghi's side, after they swept past Milan into the Coppa Italia final with a 3-0 second-leg win in midweek, with Martinez volleying in the opening goal.

Before they take on Juventus next month, though, last year's champions have the Scudetto's destiny in their hands, with dreams of a domestic double still very much alive.

Potentially just five wins away from defending their title, Inter still have Wednesday's game in hand on Milan, so taking maximum points at Dall'Ara would elevate them back to first place by a single point.

Having taken care of their most challenging fixtures, Inzaghi's men also have a relatively gentle run-in to the end of their campaign, which concludes at home to Sampdoria next month - with Udinese, Empoli and Cagliari to play between now and then.

Bologna coach Sinisa Mihajlovic on January 17, 2022© Reuters

Crushed 6-1 in September's reverse fixture at San Siro, Bologna have also failed to defeat Inter in their last 15 attempts on home soil - losing 12 times in the process - so precedent certainly weighs against them before the Milanese giants roll into town.

Once an Inter player and assistant to former manager Roberto Mancini, the Rossoblu's head coach Sinisa Mihajlovic has watched on from afar in recent weeks, as he undergoes treatment for leukaemia.

He will surely have been impressed by his side's feats in his absence, with the Emilian club's inconsistency being replaced by an unbeaten streak which stretched to four games following Sunday's 2-2 draw with Udinese.

Representing their longest league run without defeat since early last year, Bologna have also held Juventus and Milan, plus beaten Sampdoria 2-0 during that spell - seeing them secure a safe mid-table spot.

Scoring twice against Udinese - through promising wing-back Aaron Hickey and substitute Nicola Sansone - the Felsinei even managed to cope without their attacking talisman Marko Arnautovic at the weekend.

The former Inter striker, who was suspended last time out, had scored each of Bologna's previous six Serie A goals, with the last time another name appeared on the scoresheet being in January. Now back in action, though, the firebrand forward would love nothing better than to get one over on his old club.

Bologna Serie A form:
  • 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



Team News

Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi reacts on April 9, 2022© Reuters

Inter coach Simone Inzaghi is not only expected to have veteran midfielder Arturo Vidal missing again with a knee injury, the presence of German wing-back Robin Gosens is in doubt due to a muscular problem, and goalkeeper Samir Handanovic (back) is ruled out.

Ivan Perisic will continue to occupy the visitors' left flank, with Gosens at best fit for a place on the bench - where he has usually started since joining from Atalanta during the winter break.

While Matteo Darmian is a contender to feature on the opposite side, Denzel Dumfries remains favourite to retain his place, so Inter may even be unchanged from the side that started against Roma.

Bologna, meanwhile, will be strengthened, relative to the team put out on Sunday. Marko Arnautovic, Adama Soumaoro and ex-Inter man Gary Medel all return after serving suspensions against Udinese.

The former will start up front, which should see either Riccardo Orsolini or Musa Barrow drop down to the bench, while Soumaoro and Medel would join forces in the back three if both are ultimately available.

Midfielder Kingsley Michael is still on the road to recovery, so is not yet ready to be involved, while Nicola Sansone may hope his goal last time out will earn him a rare start in support of Arnautovic.

Bologna possible starting lineup:
Skorupski; Soumaoro, Medel, Theate; De Silvestri, Dominguez, Schouten, Soriano, Hickey; Barrow, Arnautovic

Inter Milan possible starting lineup:
Radu; De Vrij, Skriniar, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Brozovic, Calhanoglu, Perisic; Martinez, Dzeko


SM words green background

We say: Bologna 0-1 Inter Milan

Having caused problems for both Milan and Juve of late, Bologna are unlikely to surrender in the manner they did when these clubs last met - losing by a five-goal margin.

It may be an attritional affair at times, but Inter have sufficient guile - and a variety of options on the bench - to help them unlock the Rossoblu's rearguard eventually.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data



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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Inter Milan win with a probability of 60.84%. A draw had a probability of 21% and a win for Bologna had a probability of 18.17%.

The most likely scoreline for a Inter Milan win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.96%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (9.88%) and 0-1 (9.78%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.85%), while for a Bologna win it was 2-1 (4.96%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 5% likelihood.


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Game History

How you voted: Bologna vs Inter Milan

Bologna
12.4%
Draw
10.0%
Inter Milan
77.7%
251
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Inter Milan's Denzel Dumfries celebrates scoring their first goal on March 19, 2022
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Napoli118121881025
2Inter Milan1173125131224
3Atalanta BCAtalanta1171329141522
4Fiorentina116412291322
5Juventus115601971221
6Lazio106132213919
7AC Milan105231711617
8Udinese115151416-216
9Bologna103611211115
10Torino114251516-114
11Empoli1135389-114
12Roma113441214-213
13Hellas VeronaHellas Verona114071624-812
14CagliariCagliari10235817-99
15Genoa11236821-139
16Como112361222-109
17Parma111641417-39
18Monza111551014-48
19VeneziaVenezia112271019-98
20Lecce11227420-168


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