Bologna vs AC Milan prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2023-04-14 13:00.
Only a handful of teams have done better than eighth-placed Bologna over the last ten Serie A (SA) matches (W6, D2, L2), giving hope to their European dreams as even a seventh-place finish could potentially open up the door to continental qualification. An impressive 2-0 home win over Atalanta last weekend, which coach Thiago Motta described as Bolognaâs âbest gameâ, was part of that good form, and the manager now wants to face AC Milan âat our bestâ so his side can stay firmly in the European hunt.
The hosts are actually in line to win three top-flight games in a row âto nilâ for the first time since February 1973, and hopes will be high they can achieve that, especially as they are on a run of three straight shutouts at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara which includes a win against Inter and a draw with Lazio! Milan present a huge obstacle in achieving that considering Bologna have not won a top-flight H2H since January 2016 (D2, L12).
Milan see this match sandwiched between their Champions League quarter-final commitments against Napoli, whom they defeated 1-0 during the first leg on Wednesday. That slender lead keeps the âtie wide openâ according to coach Stefano Pioli, who may have to juggle his priorities as the fourth-placed visitors arenât guaranteed of a top-four league finish yet.
Part of the blame for that predicament lies in Milanâs poor recent five-game league form (W1, D2, L2) where they dropped crucial points in every game bar a stunning 4-0 win over Napoli. That victory came on the road, albeit once again it was an exception as Milan have lost four of their last six SA road trips (W2) casting doubts over their ability to hold on to a proud record of having not lost an away SA H2H since March 2002 (W12, D4).
Key battle: Nicola Sansone scored Bolognaâs opener in their last match and has six goal involvements (G4, A2) in 13 SA H2Hs. Stopping him could be Theo HernĂĄndezâs main task, although the Milan defender also boasts three goal involvements (G1, A2) in six SA H2Hs.
Hot stat: Only Udinese have won more league points than Bologna (14 â W4, D2, L6) this season after conceding the match opener.