Bologna take on the visitors Milan in the round 1 match of Italian Serie A. The match will be played on Monday, August 21st at Stadio Renato Dall'Ara (Bologna).
Bologna are starting the full season under the current coach. Despite the serious illness of the iconic Serbian coach Sinisa Mihajlovic, the team continued to collaborate with him. However, the results gradually declined, and they eventually parted ways with Sinisa after the start of the 2022/2023 season. The decision was received with mixed feelings – after all, why wasn't this done in the offseason? It was finalized only after a few rounds, and not without some hopeless performances... Nevertheless, the successor to Mihajlovic, also a former football player, Tiago Motta, achieved a good sporting result, accumulating 54 points and finishing in 9th position. Will this success continue? With the squad retained, and with the contracts of Poš and Moro redeemed, they strengthened the team by bringing in Dutch players Beekema and El Azzouzi. The new season started with a victory, even if it was in the cup – they secured a 2-0 win against Cesena.
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Milan intends to remain among the leaders of Italian football. Under Stefano Pioli, the Red and Blacks managed to return to the top of Serie A in 2022. However, it quickly became clear that retaining the Scudetto would be difficult, as Napoli proved to be strong contenders. Moreover, it turned out that the best they could hope for at home was to stay within the Champions League quartet. In fact, they would not have achieved even that if it weren't for Juventus' 10-point penalty – in the end, they managed to secure 4th place. There were also disappointments in the cup and Super Cup; they were defeated by their neighbors, Inter, with a score of 0-3. Nerazzurri also won in the derby in the Champions League semifinals. However, the fact that they reached that stage is noteworthy, considering that the club had failed to progress from the group stage the year before. This result makes the footballing year relatively successful for Pioli and his team. What will the new year bring, without Tonali (unexpectedly acquired by the ambitious Newcastle for 70 million), as well as Brahim Diaz, Dest, Tetărșanu, Rebić, Maldini Jr., and Junior Messias? Ibrahimović retired, although he played very little in his final year. Nonetheless, it seems that the squad has been reinforced – with the additions of Sportiello and Romero, Loftus-Cheek and Pulisic, Reinders and Okafar, Chukwueze and Musa.
Rossoneri certainly have a noticeable advantage in this fixture. However, in the last 3 head-to-head matches, two draws were recorded. Even when playing away, the Red and Blacks are considered the clear favorites in this match-up. However, considering the statistics of recent head-to-head clashes, it might be wise to consider the option of under 2.5 goals total.
Prediction for the match: Under 2.5 scored goals.
