Two Serie A teams will lock horns in the second round of the Coppa Italia on Tuesday evening, with Bologna welcoming Hellas Verona to Stadio Renato Dall'Ara.
The home side will enter the contest off the back of a 1-1 draw with Sassuolo in Serie A on Saturday, while Hellas Verona suffered a 1-0 defeat to Juventus last time out.
Match preview
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Bologna are actually two-time winners of the Coppa Italia, with the team lifting the trophy in both 1970 and 1974, but it would be fair to say that their performance in Serie A is the priority this season.
The Red and Blues played out a 1-1 draw with Sassuolo in the league on Saturday, with the result moving them onto 15 points from 10 matches, which is enough for seventh position in the table.
Thiago Motta's side are unbeaten in all competitions since a 2-0 home loss to AC Milan on August 21, which is actually their only defeat of the campaign.
Too many draws have prevented them from really pushing high up the division, though, sharing the points in six of their 10 league fixtures in 2023-24, which is the most in the division.
Bologna best Cesena 2-0 in the last round of the Coppa Italia to advance, and they have been victorious in three of their last four matches in this particular competition.
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Hellas Verona, though, will enter this match off the back of a disappointing run of form, having lost six of their last eight matches in all competitions, failing to win in the process.
Marco Baroni's side opened their 2023-24 campaign with a 3-1 victory over Ascoli in the Coppa Italia and then won their opening two league fixtures against Empoli and Roma during an excellent start.
However, it has been a real struggle since then, and they will enter this match off the back of three successive losses in the league, including a 1-0 reverse to Juventus on Saturday night.
The Yellow and Blues have never won the Coppa Italia, and it is not a competition that will be too important for them this season, with their performance in Italy's top flight certainly the priority.
Hellas Verona suffered a 4-0 loss to Bologna when the two teams last met in the Coppa Italia in December 2016, but they are unbeaten against Tuesday's opponents in Serie A since September 2021, with the run including a goalless draw in the league earlier this season.
Team News
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Bologna will be without the services of two players on Tuesday evening due to injuries, with Jhon Lucumi and Adama Soumaoro unavailable for selection.
Head coach Motta will make changes to the side that started against Sassuolo at the weekend, with Stefan Posch and Dan Ndoye among those expected to come into the XI.
Joshua Zirkzee has been in strong form this season, scoring four times, including once in the Coppa Italia, and he is expected to again feature in the final third of the field.
Hellas Verona, meanwhile, have three major doubts leading into this match, with Isak Hien, Juan Cabal and Jayden Braaf potentially all missing out for the visitors.
Head coach Baroni will also shuffle his pack for this match, with the likes of Jackson Tchatchoua, Darko Lazovic and Tomas Suslov expected to be among the changes.
However, Milan Duric is again likely to feature in the final third, while there could also be another start in an attacking position for Federico Bonazzoli.
Bologna possible starting lineup:
Skorupski; Posch, Bonifazi, Calafiori, Lykogiannis; Freuler, Moro; Orsolini, Ferguson, Ndoye; Zirkzee
Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:
Montipo; Magnani, Dawidowicz, Terracciano; Tchatchoua, Folorunsho, Suslov, Lazovic; Duda; Bonazzoli, Duric
We say: Bologna 2-0 Hellas Verona
Bologna will enter this match in much the better form, and although the hosts will make multiple changes from their strongest side, we are still expecting Motta's team to advance to the next round of the competition courtesy of a comfortable success.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
