After another successful European night, AS Roma return to Serie A duties when they travel to the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara to lock horns against mid-table Bologna.
Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma face a challenging end to the 2022/23 season as they continue to fight on two fronts in the final stretch, with Bologna their next opponent. While Mourinho guided Roma to a narrow 1-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday, his side has struggled for form domestically in recent times. They have gone four games without a win, which has dented their top-four hopes.
Roma currently sit seventh in Serie A, with their best route into the Champions League now seemingly being the Europa League. With the lack of squad depth and injuries hitting them hard, the Giallorossi are five points shy of Inter Milan with just four games to go. So they are likely to have their focus on Thursday’s trip to Germany ahead of Sunday’s clash at the Dall’Ara.
But their focus and resources will be split this weekend as, in between two semi-final legs against Leverkusen, Roma head to Bologna in Serie A action, with the hosts already safe from relegation. Sunday’s clash in Emilia-Romagna could even decide the visitors’ hunt to secure a first top-four finish in Serie A.
Bologna are eighth in the standings and out of contention for European qualification. That said, it has been a promising season under coach Thiago Motta. However, the Rossoblu may have difficulty keeping hold of the former Serie A winner, with recent reports suggesting he could leave Bologna during the summer as he is a candidate for PSG and AS Roma’s potential head coach vacancies.
In terms of form, the Rossoblu have hit a rough patch in recent games. They are winless in five straight Serie A matches but have picked up six points from the last six games, scoring seven times and conceding eight. The Romans claimed a narrow 1-0 win in the reverse fixture played at the start of 2023 in the capital. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the upcoming meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Bologna
📣 Your Rossoblù squad for #BolognaRoma 💪#WeAreOne pic.twitter.com/znX0dWLg2Y
— Bologna FC 1909 (@BolognaFC1909en) May 13, 2023
Bologna will be obliged to make at least one change, with defender Stefan Posch serving a one-game suspension for the hosts. Charalambos Lykogiannis is expected to take his place in the starting lineup, with Nicola Sansone also possibly being recalled to the squad.
The in-demand Thiago Motta is likely to field his side in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Lukasz Skorupski will start in goal for the hosts. Bologna are likely to deploy Lorenzo De Silvestri and Andrea Cambiaso as the full-backs. Kevin Bonifazi will partner with Joaquin Sosa at the heart of the defence.
Jerdy Schouten and Nicolas Dominguez will marshall the central midfield berths, with Scottish midfielder Lewis Ferguson in the advanced role to support the attack.
Riccardo Orsolini and Michel Aebischer will hold the width in the attack and will look to add goals and creativity to the side, with the former riding on hot form recently and being a talented finisher. Musa Barrow could start up front despite strong competition from the club’s second-top scorer, Marko Arnautovic.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Skorupski; De Silvestri, Bonifazi, Sosa, Cambiaso; Schouten, Dominguez; Orsolini, Ferguson, Aebischer; Barrow
AS Roma
This fixture will come too soon for Marash Kumbulla and Diego Llorente, who are still recovering from their respective injury issues. But other than the two fringe defenders, Roma will have a full-strength squad ready to make this trip.
Jose Mourinho will need to decide where to place his resources in the final weeks of the campaign as he attempts to balance their Europa League adventure with Serie A action. The former Chelsea and Spurs boss will surely be tempted to rotate his squad on Sunday afternoon against Bologna in an effort to keep his main starters fresh for the return leg of the Europa League semi-final on German soil.
The visitors are likely to set up in a 3-4-2-1 formation, with Rui Patricio in between the sticks. Gianluca Mancini will start in the back three with Chris Smalling and Roger Ibanez.
Touchdown in a rainy Bologna! 🌧️#ASRoma #BolognaRoma pic.twitter.com/OrMzdfQhK7
— AS Roma English (@ASRomaEN) May 13, 2023
Zeki Celik is expected to come out of the starting lineup, with Nicola Zalewski and Leonardo Spinazzola set to be deployed as the wing-backs, and the duo will look to add creativity and service from the wide areas alongside the defensive duties.
Georginio Wijnaldum is pushing for a start here and may get the chance to impress in the middle of the park alongside Roma’s new hero, Edoardo Bove, who scored the winner in the first leg against Leverkusen.
Lorenzo Pellegrini will start as the attacking midfielder and will look to add creativity from the central areas. Finally, Tammy Abraham and Andrea Belotti could form a strike partnership up top for the away side. Paulo Dybala could also feature this weekend as he looks to build match fitness ahead of next week’s trip to Leverkusen.
Probable Lineup (3-4-1-2): Patricio; Ibanez, Smalling, Mancini; Zalewski, Bove, Wijnaldum, Spinazzola; Pellegrini; Belotti, Abraham
Key Stats
- The hosts have been in impressive form in front of their supporters, having lost just three of their 17 home games this term and picking up seven victories.
- Bologna have failed to win their last five Serie A matches.
- AS Roma have scored in all but two of their away games in Serie A this season but have found the back of the net only three times in the last four matches.
- Jose Mourinho’s side are unbeaten in 11 of their last 13 games on the road against Bologna in Serie A but have lost two of their last four such encounters.
- Roma are without a win in their last four Serie A games, which has severely hampered their top-four hopes.
Player to Watch
Riccardo Orsolini
While we could’ve easily gone for AS Roma’s Lorenzo Pellegrini or Tammy Abraham, Ricardo Orsolini has been in standout form in 2023 after an unimpressive first half of the season for the Rossoblu. He has contributed to seven goals and two assists in his last 13 league outings, including the opener against Juventus in his most recent home appearance.
A consistent presence in the attack, the former Juventus and Atalanta attacker is scoring important goals for his team and is a versatile forward. Orsolini works hard, creates chances, makes smart decisions in the final third, and has one of the nastiest curled shots in all of world football. He will undoubtedly be the main protagonist for Bologna.
Prediction
Bologna 1-1 AS Roma
In theory, AS Roma have far more to play for than Bologna. However, their Serie A form is dismal, with no wins in their last four outings. Luckily for Jose Mourinho and co., Bologna have not been at the races as well lately, going winless in their last five league clashes, indicating this contest could end in a scrappy, cat-and-mouse affair.
With their form dropping off, goals have dried up for both sides. Fans of entertaining goal-fest football should stay away from this match at all costs. All the signs point to this tie being a tightly contested share of the spoils, with goals expected to be at a premium. However, a point will not help to bolster Mourinho’s top-six aspirations.
If Roma fail to win and fourth-placed AC Milan beat Sassuolo, the gap between the top four and top six would extend once again, forcing Mourinho to make a choice. The veteran Portuguese boss has a penchant for making back-door entries into European competitions. And it looks like he will be laying all of his eggs in the Europa League basket.