AC Milan Vs Bologna: Hot Duel At San Siro, Who Will Steal Points?

Strahinja Pavlovi Badminton, Milan's goal scorer from the back line (photo: x @acmilan)

JAKARTA - Being leveled in the standings with three points from two Serie A matches, AC Milan and Bologna will meet at the San Siro on Sunday night, September 14.

The two clubs won their first league win just before the international break, and now they have met for the first time since the Coppa Italia final last May.

Determined to make up for a slow start, Milan are looking for their first win in Serie A this season during a visit to Lecce at Via del Mare in the last game.

The Rossoneri's opening defeat to the newly promoted Cremonese - who scored two goals from three on-target attempts - has led them to start with the wrong move, but they avoided another embarrassing defeat in the south.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek eased their tension by scoring in the middle of the second half, before Christian Pulisic remained calm to kick the ball in when time was running out, securing maximum points.

Experienced manager Massimiliano Allegri has been brought back to add stability after the chaos-packed campaign, in which the Rossoneri sacked two coaches and finished only eighth, so now he needs to adapt some new players to the modeled squad.

After a busy summer in the transfer market, the race for the top four is Milan's main target - especially after failing to qualify for any European competition last season, when they also lost in the Coppa Italia final.

Before returning to the cup race this season - they will meet Lecce again this month - the Rossoneri will face Udinese and their trophy final winner in Serie A.

Unbeaten at home to the last one since 2016, they have won seven of the two teams' last nine meetings at the San Siro.

Indeed, Bologna have only won twice in their last 20 league games against Milan - but the waves may be changing.

After a win in February's Serie A at Stadio Dall'Ara, Rossoblu beaten opponents from their second city in Rome and lifted the Coppa Italia trophy.

The success also ensured they took Milan's place in the UEFA competition, and Vincenzo Italiano's men are ready to start their Europa League campaign with a visit to Aston Villa this month.

In Serie A so far, Bologna have lost 1-0 to Roma with a win with the same score against Como, with tarisman Riccardo Orsolini scoring the winner in the last game.

However, after last winning two consecutive league games in March, Italiano will want to see more consistent results between now and the next international break.

Milan could field two new players from the transfer period in their early line this week, as Christopher Nkunku and Max Allegri's favorite, Adrien Rabiot, may both make the club's debut.

Rabiot was sent off by Marseille in an extraordinary state, while Nkunku failed to make an impact in England, so they definitely had points to prove.

The expected departure for Santiago Gimenez was unsuccessful, so - fresh from scoring a beautiful goal for Mexico against South Korea - he will be competing with Nkunku, Christian Pulisic, and Rafael Leao for the position ahead.

The latter are still completing his recovery from a calf injury that has kept him out of Serie A's actions so far, meaning he will only be on the bench on the best.

Bologna signed Ibrahim Sulemana on loan from Atalanta BC before the transfer window closed, but he is currently injured and the summer Anyaran player Ciro Immobile is still absent due to thigh problems.

Nicolo Casale and former Milan player Tommaso Pobega will also be out of action, while full-back Emil Holm may be forced to join them in the stands.

Interestingly, British winger Jon Rowe - who was recruited from Marseille after reports of physical complaints with Rabiot - had the opportunity to start.

Player Composition Forecast

AC Milan: Maignan; Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic; Saelemaekers, Loftus-Cheek, Modric, Rabiot, Estupinan; Pulisic, Gimenez

Bologna: Skorupski; Zortea, Vitik, Heggem, Miranda; Freuler, Ferguson; Orsolini, Odgaard, Cambiaghi; Castro