Inter Milan will be desperate to return to winning ways when they welcome Bologna to San Siro in a Serie A clash on Wednesday.
Matchday 14 of the 2022/23 Serie A season is underway, and five matches will be on show on Wednesday. The action will conclude at San Siro, where Inter Milan will play hosts to Bologna, looking to bounce back to winning ways after the defeat to Juventus last weekend.
2022/23 has been a substandard season thus far for Inter Milan, especially domestically. They have lost five of their 13 Serie A games, thus lagging considerably in the title race, with table-toppers Napoli 11 points ahead. But Simone Inzaghi’s men have exceeded expectations in Europe, as they toppled Barcelona to reach the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 this month.
On the other hand, Bologna started the 2022/23 season inconsistently, failing to win nine of the first ten Serie A games. But a three-match winning run has propelled the Rossoblu to 12th on the table, getting clear of the dreaded relegation zone.
The corresponding fixture last season saw Inter Milan cruise to a 6-1 win over Bologna, with the Nerazzurri having six different goalscorers. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Inter Milan
Inter CEO Marotta on Romelu Lukaku: "We will wait for Lukaku after his new injury. There are many injuries in Europe around top clubs with many games, so we are gonna wait him". 🔵 #Inter
Negotiations expected in the next months with Chelsea to extend loan deal for 1 more year. pic.twitter.com/0rJh8lf2Jw
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 2, 2022
Simone Inzaghi does not have any new injury concerns hampering his preparations ahead of the visit of Bologna. On Wednesday, the Inter Milan manager will be bereft of the services of only one first-team player.
Romelu Lukaku remains unavailable due to his recent fitness issues and faces a race against time to make the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Marcelo Brozovic returned to action on the weekend against Juventus. But the game against Bologna might have come too soon for the veteran Croat to feature in the starting eleven.
So Kristjan Asllani should feature at the base of the Inter Milan midfield, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan dropping to the bench. Nicolo Barella and Hakan Calhanoglu should provide defensive support to Asllani. But Roberto Gagliardini will also be in contention to feature from the get-go.
Alessandro Bastoni will likely replace Francesco Acerbi in the starting eleven. The Italian defender will join Milan Skriniar and Stefan de Vrij in the central defensive unit. Another player dropping to the bench should be Denzel Dumfries, who was sub-par against Juventus. Matteo Darmian will thus start as the right wing-back, with Federico Dimarco continuing on the left flank.
Edin Dzeko struggled to produce the goods against Juventus on Sunday. But the veteran striker has a solid record versus Bologna and will fancy his chances this midweek. Dzeko should thus start alongside Lautaro Martinez in the strike partnership.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Onana; Skriniar, de Vrij, Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Asllani, Calhanoglu, Dimarco; Dzeko, Martinez
Bologna
Like his counterpart in the Inter Milan dugout, Thiago Motta has a relatively injury-free squad ahead of the trip to San Siro. The Bologna manager will be without one first-team player on Wednesday, with Kevin Bonifazi still on the sidelines.
The spotlight will be on Marko Arnautovic, who should be fit enough to spearhead the Bologna attack on Wednesday. Riccardo Orsolini and Musa Barrow will be the supporting cast for the former Inter Milan striker at San Siro.
As for the midfield unit, the onus will be on Gary Medel to keep things tight and negate the influence of Nicolo Barella and Hakan Calhanoglu. Medel will have Jerdy Schouten as his partner in the double pivot, with the duo forming a defensive-minded midfield unit.
Stefan Posch, Jhon Lucumi and Adama Soumaoro will likely form the central defensive unit. And Michel Aebischer and Andrea Cambiaso should be the two wing-backs, with the duo being responsible for providing width in the final third. They will also often drop deep to form a flat back five. Finally, Lukasz Skorupski will feature between the sticks for Bologna.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Skorupski; Posch, Soumaoro, Lucumi; Aebischer, Medel, Schouten, Cambiaso; Orsolini, Barrow; Arnautovic
Key Stats
- Inter Milan and Bologna have not drawn in Serie A meetings since September 2017, with the Nerazzurri winning six of the last nine games and the Rossoblu the other three. Since 2018, Inter have lost more games in the Italian top flight only against Lazio (four) and Juventus (six).
- Bologna have won their last three Serie A matches. The last time the Rossoblu enjoyed a longer run of consecutive wins in Serie A was in May 1967 (run of six).
- Inter have kept a clean sheet in five of their last seven Serie A home games. Since the final matchday of the 2021/22 season, no team has kept more clean sheets at home in the competition (Juventus also five).
- Bologna have lost more points from winning positions than any other side in Serie A this season (14). Meanwhile, Inter are one of the two teams, alongside Monza, yet to gain a point from a losing position in the current campaign in the Italian top-flight.
- Edin Dzeko has scored seven goals against Bologna in Serie A. Only against Sassuolo (eight) has he scored more against a side in the competition. However, only two of these goals have come in home games, both with Inter at San Siro in September 2021, with the others netted with AS Roma at Dall’Ara Stadium.
Player to Watch
Edin Dzeko
Edin Dzeko has blown hot and cold this season, and his performances have often left a lot to be desired. But the veteran striker tends to enjoy facing Bologna. That is because the Red and Blues are his second-favourite opponents after Sassuolo, with the Bosnian attacker netting seven goals. It will be interesting to see if Dzeko steps up this midweek.
Prediction
Inter Milan 2-1 Bologna
Inter Milan had trounced Bologna in the corresponding fixture last season. But a result of that sort is unlikely on Wednesday, with the Rossoblu tightening the screws at the back. And the visitors will also take the game to the Nerazzurri at San Siro.
However, the hosts should have enough quality to eke out a narrow win on Wednesday. The Hard Tackle predicts a closely-contested affair between Inter Milan and Bologna that should end in a 2-1 victory for Simone Inzaghi’s men.
