Stadio Giuseppe Meazza is the venue as Inter and Bologna go head-to-head in an exciting Serie A showdown and it’s time to preview the game and take a look at the expected lineups. Despite going toe-to-toe with Real Madrid for most of their Champions League curtain-raiser, the hosts succumbed to a late 1-0 defeat.
The two sides that have had identical returns from their opening three Serie A fixtures will trade tackles in Lombardy as Inter aim to bounce back from their disappointing Champions League opener.
Inter vs Bologna Head-to-Head
Even though Inter won both last season’s Serie A H2Hs by an aggregate scoreline of 4-1, Bologna have no reason to fear their hosts, as only Juventus (5) have registered more league wins at Giuseppe Meazza than them (4) since 2011/12.
Additionally, the Gialloblu have troubled the scoresheet in each of their last ten top-flight trips to Giuseppe Meazza, which stands for the longest such streak any Serie A team has achieved at this venue since 2010/11.
However, Inter go into proceedings as warm favorites to claim all three points, and for a good reason. If the Nerazzurri outplay Bologna here, it will be the first time since 2010 that they’ve collected three successive league wins over this opposition.
Inter Form Preview
A 2-2 draw with Sampdoria at Luigi Ferraris last time out halted Inter’s two-game winning Serie A start under new boss Simone Inzaghi. After putting Genoa to the sword on the opening weekend, the Nerazzurri turned a 1-0 half-time deficit into a 3-1 victory on the road against Hellas Verona.
The reigning Italian champions have been an exciting team to watch this season, as each of their three Serie A matches featured 4+ overall goals, with two yielding precisely two first-half goals. Additionally, Inter have been scoring for fun in the domestic championship of late. Inzaghi’s men have netted 2+ goals in each of their last eight top-flight outings, their longest such streak since February 2007 (ten that time).
Inter have been a force to be reckoned with at home this calendar year, putting together a staggering 17 consecutive Serie A victories at Giuseppe Meazza. They are three home wins away from joining a distinguished group of two teams to rack up 20+ home top-flight triumphs in a row in Serie A.
One of Inzaghi’s most trusted allies, Lautaro Martinez, will be under the spotlight. The Argentine forward has failed to find the net in all five of his previous Serie A appearances against Bologna. Given the visitors’ impressive defensive showings of late, now would be a good time for the 24-year-old to put his scoring prowess on display.
Bologna Form Preview
Mattias Svanberg’s 78th-minute winner against Hellas Verona at Renato Dall’Ara propelled Bologna to their joint-best three-game Serie A start in a three-point-per-win era (W2, D1). The Gialloblu staged a stunning second-half comeback to beat newly-promoted Salernitana 3-2 at home on Matchday 1 before holding Atalanta to a scoreless draw in Bergamo.
So Bologna will be on a high, even though they’ve drawn their last three Serie A matches away from home in a row. Incidentally, the last time they played out four straight road stalemates in Italy’s top-flight was in December 2008, under current manager Sinisa Mihajlovic.
However, their flying start to the season could inspire dreams of an upset here, as the Greyhounds hope to post three wins from their inaugural four Serie A matches for the first time since 2001/02. Worryingly, though, you have to go back to mid-March’s 3-2 victory over last season’s relegation boys Crotone to find Bologna’s most recent Serie A win on the road.
Since beating Crotone, the visitors have gone winless in their subsequent five Serie A trips (D3, L2), keeping just a single clean sheet in that time. The last-minute departure of Takehiro Tomiyasu for Arsenal could throw a spanner in the works to Bologna’s hopes of keeping Inter at bay.
Inter vs Bologna Predicted Lineups
Inter (3-5-2): Samir Handanovic; Milan Skriniar, Stefan de Vrij, Federico Dimarco; Denzel Dumfries, Nicolo Barella, Marcelo Brozovic, Hakan Calhanoglu, Ivan Perisic; Lautaro Martinez, Joaquin Correa.
Bologna (4-2-3-1): Lukasz Skorupski; Lorenzo Di Silvestri, Gary Medel, Kevin Bonifazi, Aaron Hickey; Nicolas Dominguez, Mattias Svanberg; Riccardo Orsolini, Roberto Soriano, Nicola Sansone; Marko Arnautovic.