AC Milan to pass tricky test against Bologna

AC Milan host Bologna on Saturday as they continue their desperate chase for a Europa League spot. Can the side from Emilia Romagna boost their own outside hopes? Have a read of our preview here:

Success in Milan seems a distant memory

What has happened to the world?

Crowds can’t attend football, Donald Trump is the president of the USA, Boris Johnson is suddenly expecting people to take him seriously and AC Milan are bang average.

It is like another dimension let alone a bad movies’ vision of a dystopian future. The Rossoneri are really struggling and have done so for a number of years. They are plagued with issues surrounding FFP and can’t compete with their city rivals Inter, not to mention Juventus.

It’s what Italians call ‘tempi duri’ – hard times. AC Milan have enough talent but nowhere near enough depth to expect to be much higher than they are currently.

This season they have turned on the style at times but it has been too sporadic to take them into Champions League contention.

The likes of Ante Rebic, Giacomo Bonaventura and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are quality players who helped Milan demolish title-chasing Lazio at the Olimpico, but this group are unable to carry the team to glory on their own.

Another summer of upheaval is likely at the San Siro, new recruits are desperately needed.

Bologna making steady progress under Saputo

Joey Saputo has done a decent job since purchasing Bologna in 2014. They have not been able to break new ground and challenge the big clubs at the top of Serie A, but they are stable and enjoying an encouraging campaign.

The Canadian-Italian, owner of Montreal Impact, has tried to modernise the club and make intelligent recruitment decisions, all of which are starting to pay off.

There is an outside hope for European football, but in reality that is highly unlikely. The performances have been fairly mixed under Sinisa Mihajlovic and that has only produced mixed results.

Key players this season have been pacey winger Musa Barrow, a player eyeing double figures for goals before the campaign comes to a close, 23-year-old Riccardo Orsolini and Roberto Soriano. Nicola Sansone also deserves a mention bagging four goals and three assists this season.

The club will do well to hold on to some of these stars over the summer with Orsolini in particular expected to attract attention.

If they can get into Europe then keeping the bulk of the squad will be easier, but Bologna are a steady Eddy right now and can be expected to continue along that path for the next few years.

AC Milan v Bologna betting tip

Even though Milan are likely to win this one, Bologna are a decent team and have enough going forward to cause problems for any side. With that in mind we are backing both teams to score in this one at odds of 1.7 with bet365.

Bet Both teams to score on Bet365