Saturday’s Serie A action commences at Giuseppe Meazza as title-bidding Inter and high-flying Bologna lock horns in the afternoon kick-off. Let’s look at our match preview for this contest.
Despite being knocked down from a flawless four-game Serie A start with a 2-1 defeat to Sassuolo in their last home league outing, Inter are seemingly back to their best. After Lautaro Martinez’s quadruple inspired Simone Inzaghi’s team to a 4-0 romping of Salernitana in the previous round, it was time to kick things off in the Champions League.
Scoring from the only shot on target squeezed Inter to a 1-1 draw at Real Sociedad in their opening Group D fixture, making the round-two home contest against Benfica a must-need affair. It was always going to be a daunting task, but Nerazzurri passed the test with flying colors.
Marcus Thuram’s strike early in the second half settled an evenly-contested game in Lombardy, firing Inter to an all-important 1-0 win. With October’s international break waiting in the wings, Inzaghi’s men will be keen to sign off in style against a Bologna side they’ve thumped across their last three league meetings at Meazza.
Keen to avoid losing four consecutive away matches against Inter in Serie A, a feat they last experienced in April 2004, Thiago Motta’s men come into proceedings in high spirits. Riccardo Orsolini’s scintillating hat-trick propelled Rossoblu to an emphatic 3-0 home triumph over early relegation candidates Empoli last weekend.
Bologna have proved a tough nut to crack in the early goings. Since a 2-1 opening-day loss to Inter’s bitter rivals Milan, they’ve gone unbeaten in all six subsequent Serie A games (W2, D4). Buzzing from a decent spell of form, the visitors ought to take the field confident of turning around their traditionally poor fortunes against Inter.
Match Preview
Inter
Not only have Inter won their last three home league encounters against Bologna, but they also netted a staggering 15 goals in the process. A brace of identical 6-1 wins in this exact fixture across the past two seasons makes for good reading as Nerazzurri bid to enter the break at the top of the Serie A table.
With only goal difference separating them from Milan at the summit, Inter won’t accept anything less than three points here. They have a superb home form to back their claim, having won six consecutive league matches at Meazza before shockingly losing to Sassuolo last time out.
Player to Watch: Lautaro Martinez
Martinez makes our ‘Player to Watch’ section week in, week out, but there’s a good reason. The Argentine forward has nine league goals to his name already, while he scored in the last meeting between Inter and Bologna at this stadium.
Bologna
Defensive resilience has been Bologna’s most prominent feature this season, with only Inter (four) conceding fewer goals than them (three) thus far. Since losing on matchday one, Motta’s men have only capitulated twice in six Serie A games, suggesting Nerazzurri might have to work their socks off to get on the scoresheet.
Four clean sheets on the trot only enhance this thesis. However, goals have been at a premium for Bologna. Before Orsolini’s match-winning triple against Empoli, Rossoblu had only scored three times in their opening six league outings. Slow out of the blocks, they’ve managed just one first-half goal to date.
Player to Watch: Riccardo Orsolini
Last weekend’s hat-trick isn’t the only reason Inter must pay special attention to Orsolini. The left-footed winger netted a match-winning strike as Bologna squeaked past Nerazzurri 1-0 in February, albeit the game took place at Renato Dall’Ara.
Team News
Summer arrivals Marko Arnautovic and Davide Frattesi remain on the sidelines with thigh and muscle injuries, respectively. There’s an outside chance, however, that Inter could have Stefano Sensi fit as he’s inching closer to recovering from a long-term muscle problem.
On the other hand, Motta faces a substantial selection headache at the back, with three first-choice Bologna defenders unavailable for this trip. Stefan Posch, Jhon Lukumi, and Adama Soumaoro are not in contention for the matchday squad.
Inter vs Bologna Potential Lineups
Inter (3-5-2): Yann Sommer; Alessandro Bastoni, Stefan de Vrij, Benjamin Pavard; Denzel Dumfries, Nicolo Barella, Hakan Calhanoglu, Davy Klaassen, Federico Dimarco; Marcus Thuram, Lautaro Martinez.
Bologna (4-2-3-1): Lukasz Skorupski; Tommaso Corazza, Sam Beukema, Riccardo Calafiori, Victor Kristiansen; Nikola Moro, Remo Freuler; Riccardo Orsolini, Lewis Ferguson, Dan Ndoye; Joshua Zirkzee.
Inter vs Bologna Prediction
Despite Bologna’s phenomenal stretch, Inter should have this one wrapped up every day of the week.
Prediction: Inter Win
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