Bologna will host Hellas Verona in the Coppa Italia on Tuesday. The home team comes into the game coming off a 1-1 draw in Serie A against Sassuolo on Saturday. Hellas Verona lost their most recent match 1-0 to Juventus.
Preview (Bologna vs. Hellas Verona)
Although Bologna is the real Coppa Italia champion, having won the championship in both 1970 and 1974, it’s reasonable to assume that this season’s focus is on how well the squad does in Serie A. In the league on Saturday, the Red and Blues and Sassuolo drew 1-1. The outcome put them at 15 points from 10 games, good for seventh place in the standings. Since their lone defeat of the season, a 2-0 loss at home to AC Milan on August 21, Thiago Motta’s team has gone undefeated in all competitions.
They have shared the points in six of their ten league games in 2023–24, which is the most in the division. Too many draws have kept them from significantly climbing the standings. Bologna advances after defeating Cesena 2-0 in the Coppa Italia’s final round. They had won three of the previous four meetings in this competition. However, Hellas Verona comes into this game after an unsatisfactory run of play in which they have lost six of their last eight games across all competitions and failed to win any of them. Following a 3-1 triumph over Ascoli in the Coppa Italia, Marco Baroni’s team won its first two league games against Roma and Empoli in 2023–24.
But since then, they have really struggled, and they come into this game coming off three straight league losses. It included a 1-0 setback to Juventus on Saturday night. Since the Yellow and Blues have never won the Coppa Italia, their success in Italy’s top division will undoubtedly take precedence over this competition this season. When the two teams played in the Coppa Italia in December 2016, Hellas Verona lost 4-0 to Bologna. However, since September 2021, they have gone undefeated in Serie A. It included a goalless stalemate in the league earlier this season.
Team News
Thanks to injuries, Bologna will be without the services of two players on Tuesday evening: Adama Soumaoro and Jon Lucumi. Stefan Posch and Dan Ndoye are predicted to start for head coach Motta’s altered starting lineup from the team that faced Sassuolo on the weekend. Joshua Zirkzee is predicted to play in the last third of the field once more this season. He has scored four goals this season, including one in the Coppa Italia. Three key injuries for Hellas Verona going into this game include the possibility of Jayden Braaf, Juan Cabal, and Isak Hien missing out.
For this game, head coach Baroni will also be making changes to his lineup. Players like Jackson Tchatchoua, Darko Lazovic, and Tomas Suslov are likely to be included. But Milan Duric is probably going to play in the last third once more. Federico Bonazzoli might get another start in an aggressive role. Bologna will come into this game in far better shape. The hosts will make several changes from their strongest lineup. We still predict Motta’s squad to win easily and move on to the next round of the competition.
Bologna 2 – 0 Hellas Verona
For more football previews, click here
