Overview
Many things have changed since Bologna ended their 51-year title drought with a victory over AC Milan to lift the Coppa Italia trophy last season.
After a promising start in the 2025-2026 season, Rossoblu have recently plummeted in the Serie A standings, only winning 6 points in the last 12 matches. The decline began in early December, the period when Vincenzo Italiano's team started their journey to defend the Coppa Italia with a late 2-1 victory over Parma.
2 months have passed, Bologna still cannot stop the downward spiral. Last week, they again hosted Parma at the Stadio Renato Dall'Ara stadium in Serie A. Although Tommaso Pobega received a red card in the first half, Bologna still almost created a surprising victory. However, their efforts were finally stopped by the excellent performance of the Parma goalkeeper.
In summary, in a tense Emilia derby, the away team - with only 10 players on the field - won 1-0 in the last seconds. And thus, Bologna is under great pressure to regain the feeling of victory against home fans, especially in the context that they have lost 4 consecutive home matches.
However, Bologna can still cling to the advantage from head-to-head records. After a 1-1 draw away from home in December, Rossoblu have won 3 of their last 5 encounters with Lazio in the league, including a 5-0 victory at home last season.
In the opposite direction, Lazio is nurturing hopes of conquering their eighth Coppa Italia title. They are participating in this round after defeating Milan in the round of 16. Just a few days after losing to their opponent in the match at San Siro in Serie A, Biancocelesti immediately paid the debt in a neat way, thanks to the only goal of captain Mattia Zaccagni in Rome.
Maurizio Sarri's team is currently ranked eighth in Serie A, 3 points ahead of Bologna. However, instability puts them at risk of missing the European Cup for the second consecutive season. In recent weeks, Lazio lost 0-3 to Como, drew 0-0 with Lecce in the relegation group, and then dramatically won 3-2 against Genoa thanks to Danilo Cataldi's penalty in the 100th minute.
In the most recent round, Lazio seemed to have completed a double victory against Juventus for the first time since 1943. Pedro put them ahead right before halftime, then Gustav Isaksen doubled the gap right at the beginning of the second half. However, even though goalkeeper Ivan Provedel had to operate at full capacity, the capital team still could not stand firm. Juventus launched 32 shots and finally pulled back the 2-2 draw in the final minutes.
Before the away match to Emilia-Romagna region, that result continued to expose Lazio's away weakness. They have only scored 8 goals in 12 away games and only have 3 away wins so far.
Personnel situation
Although defending the title is of honor, Bologna still has to strain themselves before a dense schedule in both Serie A and European arenas. They are preparing to face SK Brann in the UEFA Europa League play-off round.
Therefore, amidst rumors of the risk of losing his seat, Vincenzo Italiano is expected to rotate the squad, giving opportunities to some reserve players in the upcoming match.
On Lazio's side, the attack may be led by Daniel Maldini, who has been used as a "virtual striker" since joining on loan from Atalanta, or new signing Petar Ratkov.
The most notable injury list of the away team is the case of Mattia Zaccagni. In addition, Samuel Gigot and Manuel Lazzari will also be absent. On the left flank, Luca Pellegrini returned after a one-match suspension, but Nuno Tavares played well during his absence.
Expected lineup:
Ravaglia, Zortea, Casale, Heggem, Miranda, Freuler, Ferguson, Orsolini, Odgaard, Rowe, Castro.
Provedel, Marusic, Gila, Romagnoli, Tavares, Dele-Bashiru, Cataldi, Taylor, Cancellieri, Maldini, Isaksen.
The match between Bologna and Lazio takes place at 3:00 AM on February 12 (Vietnam time).
