AC MILAN v BOLOGNA: MATCH PREVIEW

Back at San Siro, back at home. AC Milan v Bologna will be played at 20:45 CET on Matchday 22 of the Serie A season and is an important crossroads in the Rossoneri's league campaign. Stopping by is a strong, young, surprising side who are rested after two weeks without playing. Our squad is on a good run, confirmed by the comeback win over Udinese, and is establishing new resources to overcome the many absences. Ahead of kick-off, take a look at our preview of AC Milan v Bologna.

LATEST FROM MILANELLO
After the victory in Udine, the squad took two days' rest before being back at Milanello for training on Tuesday morning. It has been an intense week of work for the Rossoneri who come off the back of 4 wins on the bounce and 5 consecutive Serie A wins at San Siro. It's a good run to keep up, if possible. Pioli has Marco Pellegrino back available after his spell with the Primavera in recent weeks. He is another option for the defence that could start the same as in the last couple of games: Calabria-Kjær-Gabbia-Hernández. The list of absentees remains long: Caldara, Chukwueze, Kalulu, Pobega, Thiaw, and Tomori. Not even Isma Bennacer, back from AFCON after Algeria were eliminated, but not in top physical form. The squad, though, trusts in individuals like Okafor and Jović, ready to make an impact once again as they have been at various points this season.

Coach Pioli spoke at Milanello on the eve of the game: "I think the squad is in good form because they come off the back of wins. Now our sole focus is Bologna: I've prepared for the game, motivated the lads, and I've seen great concentration, desire, and involvement from them. Because it doesn't take much to go from a good run to a bad one, and vice versa. Winning would be significant".

LATEST FROM BOLOGNA
2024 has started slower for the Rossoblù than their end to 2023, having not won in the first two Serie A fixtures of the year against Genoa and Cagliari. This season, Bologna has already played twice at San Siro and remains unbeaten: first the 2-2 league draw against Inter and then their surprise extra-time victory over them in the Coppa Italia clash. They also have to deal with certain absences: Posch (suspended), Ndoye (injured), and El Azzouzi who is playing at AFCON. Thiago Motta's side missed their last match against Fiorentina due to the Italian Super Cup and will be back on the pitch after two weeks away. Possibly recovering Saelemaekers and Karlsson, at least on the bench, De Silvestri is expected to replace Posch.

Thiago Motta spoke in a press conference: "My players have not once lost focus in the last two weeks and have worked hard towards this important Serie A match. For me, AC Milan is in the running for the Scudetto; of all the games played so far, the match against the Rossoneri is one of the few I've felt unable to win".

PRE-MATCH NUMBERS

• AC Milan is unbeaten in the last 16 games against Bologna in Serie A (13W, 3D), the Diavolo have the longest streak without defeats against the Rossoblù of any side in the league.
• AC Milan has not conceded in their last 3 home games against Bologna in Serie A, the last Rossoblù goal at San Siro came with Tomiyasu in the 5-1 on 18 July 2020. They could register 4 consecutive clean sheets against the Felsinei for the first time since the period between 1989 and 1999 (6 in this instance).
• AC Milan has won each of the first three league games in 2024, scoring 3 goals in each: the Rossoneri have only once before won all 4 of the first league games in a calendar year (in 2004). Also, the Rossoneri have never scored at least 3 goals in the first 4 games of a calendar year.
• AC Milan is the squad that has scored the most goals from substitute players in the current league season (9), the last Serie A season in which the Rossoneri scored more from players off the bench was in 2019/20 (10).

WHERE TO WATCH AC MILAN v BOLOGNA
In Italy, the game will be broadcast by DAZN and Sky Sport. To watch AC Milan v Bologna in a different country you can consult the "Where to watch Milan on TV" section under "Abroad". On our Rossoneri channels, the Matchday on Milan TV kicks off its live broadcast at 19:45 CET right up until close to kick-off, with interviews and Coach Pioli's press conference afterwards. From 20:40 CET, there will also be Live Reaction on the AC Milan Twitch channel. Don't miss coverage on acmilan.com, the AC Milan Official App and all official social media channels.

LATEST FROM SERIE A
Davide Massa will officiate the game at San Siro. The Ligurian referee has been in charge of 196 Serie A matches including 20 for the Rossoneri, the most recent being the 2-0 win over Lazio on 30 September 2023. It will be his fourth time officiating AC Milan and Bologna together: 0-1 to Bologna on 6 January 206; 5-1 to the Rossoneri on 18 July 2020; and the 1-1 at the Dall’Ara last April. Assisting him will be Palermo and Yoshikawa, fourth official Marcenaro, and Guida and Irrati will be on VAR duty.

Matchday 22 of Serie A kicked off last night, Friday 26 January, with Cagliari 1-2 Torino. Saturday has started with Atalanta 2-0 Udinese at 15:00 CET, followed by Juventus v Empoli at 18:00 CET, then AC Milan v Bologna at 20:45 CET. There will be five games on Sunday: Genoa v Lecce at 12:30 CET, Monza v Sassuolo and Verona v Frosinone at 15:00 CET, Lazio v Napoli at 18:00 CET, and then Fiorentina v Inter at 20:45 CET. The weekend concludes with Salernitana v Roma on Monday at 20:45 CET.

This is the current table: Juventus 52; Inter* 51; Milan 45; Atalanta 36; Fiorentina* 34; Lazio* 33; Bologna* e Roma 32; Napoli* 31; Torino 28; Genoa e Monza 25; Frosinone 22; Lecce 21; Sassuolo* 19; Udinese e Cagliari° 18; Hellas Verona 17; Empoli 16; Salernitana 12. (* = a game in hand; ° = extra game played)

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