Opposition insight for Milan-Bologna: Form, injuries, predicted XI and more
Bologna are the next visitors to San Siro, as AC Milan hope to respond to last week’s Europa League loss with six points out of six.
It’s been a difficult October for Milan, but they are almost at the end point. The defeat to Bournemouth in the Europa League last Thursday risked something of a collapse. Yet, a 2-0 win in Udine at the weekend has halted those fears.
Now, it’s a return to San Siro, where Bologna will hope to continue their own rejuvenation.
➤ Manager: Raffaele Palladino ➤ Form (all comps): L-D-W-L-W (most recent) ➤ Top scorer (Serie A): Federico Bernadeschi – 2 ➤ Most assists (Serie A): Juan Miranda – 3 ➤ Injuries & suspensions: Orsolini, Piccoli, Holm, Enem.
Opposition insight on Bologna
It was a summer of big changes for Bologna, who saw Vincenzo Italiano depart as the head coach. In a somewhat surprising move he headed to Turkey, joining Besiktas, while Domenico Tedesco was the one who replaced him at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara.
Bologna spent the bulk of their summer budget on midfielders Mikel Amondarain (€10m, from Estudiantes), Tommaso Pobega (€7m, loan made permanent from Milan) and striker Jay Enem (€6m, from Red Star).
They also signed full-back Rahim Alhassane from Real Oviedo for €3.5 and they welcomed winger Samuel Mbangula, centre-back Arthur Theate and striker Artem Dovbyk on loan deals. Matteo Darmian also joined on a free.
There were some big sales, too. Santiago Castro headed to Roma for €30m, Jhon Lucumi went to Juventus for €20m, Giovanni Fabbian was bought by Fiorentina for €13m and Jonathan Rowe headed to Atalanta on an initial loan that will net them €40m next summer.
After finishing eighth in 2025-26, Bologna were probably hoping for another campaign of challenging for the European spots. However, Tedesco would last just four games, being sacked after defeats to Lazio, Atalanta and Bologna, all 1-0s.
Raffaele Palladino was the man chosen to take over from him, and things have picked up a bit. A draw against Torino was followed by wins against Lecce and Cagliari, either side of a defeat to Inter in which they were the better team for the first half.
There are three players at the moment who Palladino will definitely be without for Wednesday’s game. Riccardo Orsolini, Roberto Piccoli and Emil Holm are all absent, while Enem will be evaluated closer to the match.
After that win against Cagliari, there are very few changes that need to be made, given the dominant fashion of the victory.
In defence, a clean sheet means there will be no selection headaches. Skorupski, Darmian, Casale and Theate will remain as the back three. Flanking them will be Zortea and former Rossoneri target Juan Miranda.
The midfield pivot is another point of familiarity, with Tommaso Pobega returning to San Siro alongside Lewis Ferguson, who has been linked to the club several times in recent years.
In attack, one change from the weekend is expected. Odgaard and Bernadeschi will retain their spots, but Cambiaghi will be replaced by former Juventus man, Mbangula, who’ll complete the front three.
Predicted Bologna XI (3-4-3): Skorupski; Darmian, Casale, Theate; Zortea, Pobega, Ferguson, Miranda; Bernardeschi, Odgaard, Mbangula.
Predicted bench: Pessina, Vitik, Happonen, Helland, De Silvestri, Heggem, Alhassane, Amondarain, Moro, El Azzouzi, Libra, Enem, Cambiaghi, Dovbyk.
