Overview
After an impressive streak of form in November last year, Bologna went through an incomprehensible period of decline when they did not win in 7 consecutive matches in Serie A. They ended that streak with a dramatic victory at Hellas Verona in the middle of last week.
In his return to the old stadium, coach Vincenzo Italiano faced great pressure as Rossoblu went free from the beginning of December. Despite being led early, Bologna quickly regained control thanks to Riccardo Orsolini's long-range masterpiece, before Jens Odgaard scored a double and Santiago Castro scored another goal right before halftime.
Hellas Verona rallied strongly in the second half and narrowed the score, but goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia's excellent save in the final minutes helped Bologna preserve their precious victory.
However, these 3 points are still not enough for Rossoblu to break through in the race to win a ticket to the European Cup. Bologna is currently ranked eighth in the Serie A standings, behind the Europa League group by a significant distance.
In front of them is a dense schedule, with the reception of Celtic in the Europa League in the middle of next week. But before thinking about the continental arena, Bologna must overcome the familiar challenge called Derby dell'Appennino, when Fiorentina travels to Stadio Dall'Ara this weekend.
Fiorentina has not won at Bologna's home ground for many years, but 2 late goals from Moise Kean recently helped them get 4 points in the last two rounds of Serie A.
The Italian striker is one of the names that caused great disappointment this season when he has not been able to recreate his explosive form last season, contributing to the instability of Fiorentina's attack.
Not long ago, the Tuscany team also fell to the bottom of the group. However, signs of revival have appeared recently. Fiorentina almost won their third victory in four rounds when they let Lazio equalize late, before continuing to drop the victory in the 90th minute in the 1-1 draw with AC Milan last weekend, even though Pietro Comuzzo opened the score.
Statistics show that Fiorentina's biggest problem lies in their ability to preserve their advantage. They have dropped 20 points from leading matches this season - the most in Serie A.
Personnel situation
Heading towards the important match in the Europa League in the middle of next week, Vincenzo Italiano is likely to rotate the squad when Bologna hosts Fiorentina.
Names like Jonathan Rowe and Nadir Zortea may be given the opportunity to start again to save strength for key players. The home team is still missing Jhon Lucumi and Federico Bernardeschi due to injuries, but Nicolo Cambiaghi's two-match suspension has been reduced, giving Bologna more options in attack.
In the opposite direction, Fiorentina suffered significant losses when Moise Kean could not play due to an ankle injury. Goal responsibility will be assigned to Roberto Piccoli, in the context that the away team's attack is still facing many difficulties in efficiency.
Due to unstable financial situation, Fiorentina's leadership has early activated a plan to strengthen forces in the winter transfer window. Two new signings Manor Solomon and Marco Brescianini may soon join, while the purple team is also pursuing winger Jack Harrison of Leeds United.
Expected lineup:
Ravaglia, Zortea, Heggem, Casale, Miranda, Freuler, Moro, Orsolini, Fabbian, Cambiaghi, Castro.
De Gea, Dodo, Comuzzo, Pongracic, Gosens, Mandragora, Fagioli, Parisi, Brescianini, Gudmundsson, Piccoli.
The match between Bologna and Fiorentina takes place at 9:00 PM on January 18 (Vietnam time).
