Overview
Since losing to Aston Villa for the second consecutive season, when they lost to Birmingham in the opening match, Bologna have gradually moved closer to the goal of reaching the knockout stage.
After a 1-1 draw at home to Freiburg, Rossoblu won in Romania against FCSB, then drew for the third match despite having only 10 players on the pitch.
In the 0-0 home draw against SK Brann, Charalampos Lykogiannis was sent off in the first half, but Bologna still managed to earn another point, helping them rise to 24th place in the rankings. This is the last place to participate in the play-off round, with the 12 bottom teams eliminated. Therefore, they do not have many opportunities to make mistakes in the last 4 matches.
Under the leadership of Vincenzo Italiano, Bologna entered this match with impressive form. They just defeated Napoli and Udinese, scoring 5 goals without conceding, extending their unbeaten streak in all competitions to 11.
Ranked fifth in Serie A, just three points behind the top team, Bologna continues to challenge for a place in the Champions League after winning the Coppa Italia championship last season.
While the home team has only lost 1 of their last 7 matches in Europe, Salzburg has had a disappointing Europa League season with 3 losses.
Before traveling to Emilia-Romagna, Die Roten Bullen had not won any of their seven away games in Italy since beating Lazio in 2009.
However, they still have a chance to enter the round of 32 after winning their first conference title in early November. Under the leadership of Thomas Letsch, Salzburg beat Go Ahead Eagles 2-0 at home, thanks to goals from Yorbe Vertessen and Aleksa Terzic.
These 3 points help them temporarily rank 28th, still in the risk group of being eliminated, and Salzburg must strive to end their poor away record streak.
Although Salzburg is leading the Austrian national championship, away results in the Europa League are still a big concern. They have lost all 6 of their most recent matches, conceding at least 2 goals in each match.
Personnel situation
As usual, coach Vincenzo Italiano is expected to rotate the squad significantly between matches. Therefore, Thijs Dallinga, Jhon Lucumi and some other players will likely be named in the starting lineup of Bologna.
Veteran defender Lorenzo De Silvestri will continue to be absent, while Charalampos Lykogiannis will serve his suspension after his red card against Brann.
Players such as Jonathan Rowe, Remo Freuler, Ciro Immobile and first-choice goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski are all unable to play. Nicolo Cambiaghi and Emil Holm were injured in international matches but have now recovered and can sit on the bench.
On the Salzburg side, this team is missing Christian Zawieschitzky, Takumu Kawamura, John Mellberg and Karim Onisiwo. Ivorian striker Karim Konate has recently returned to normal training.
In Konate's absence, teenage winger Edmund Baidoo has continuously scored, while Belgian striker Yorbe Vertessen has also scored twice in the Europa League this season.
Expected lineup:
Bologna: Ravaglia, Holm, Lucumi, Vitik, Miranda, Ferguson, Pobega, Bernardeschi, Odgaard, Dominguez, Dallinga.
Salzburg: Schlager, Lainer, Schuster, Rasmussen, Terzic, Kjaergaard, Diabate, Yeo, Baidoo, Vertessen, Alajbegovic.
The match between Bologna and Salzburg takes place at 3:00 am on November 28 (Vietnam time).
