Serie A PREVIEW | Inter v Bologna

After picking up their first win from this season’s Champions League group stage, Serie A action returns at the San Siro as Inter are set to face Bologna tomorrow afternoon.

Inter will aim to consolidate their position and extend their stay at the top of the Serie A table by registering a win in the final action before the international break. Marcus Thuram was the hero in the Nerazzurri’s previous outing in the Champions League against Benfica. The Italian side kept their clean sheet and picked up a narrow win after getting held to a 1-1 draw versus Real Sociedad in the opener. 

Lautaro Martinez will aim to continue his red-hot scoring form as the Argentinian scored four goals against Salernitana despite coming off the bench. Inter have recorded 18 points from a possible 21 this season and are currently tied at the top with neighbourhood rivals Milan. 

Meanwhile, Bologna head into this match on the back of a convincing 3-0 victory against Empoli. Riccardo Orsolini stood as the man of the match of the day as his goalscoring hat trick took Thiago Motta’s side to secure eighth position in the league standings.

Despite suffering an opening-day defeat at the hands of Milan, the Rossoblu have since recovered as they forced Juventus and Napoli to settle for a draw. Bologna have three clean sheets this season and have only conceded four goals, a single less than Inter’s. Therefore, it’s the league’s best attack going head-to-head with the second-best defensive performers. 

Results from their last five matches across all competitions

Inter:

W W L W D

Bologna:

W D D D D

Team News

Inter will miss the likes of Davide Frattesi, Marko Arnautovic and Stefano Sensi till the end of the international break. 

Juan Cuadrado returned from his injury and made an appearance on the bench against Benfica but he isn’t expected to start tomorrow.

As for Bologna, Stefan Posch and Adama Soumaoro will remain unavailable with injuries. Jhon Lucumi remains out of this fixture. Riccardo Orsolini will take to build on his recent stellar form.

Predicted XIs

Inter (3-5-2): Sommer; Pavard, De Vrij, Bastoni; Darmian, Barella, Calhanoglu, Mkhitaryan, Dimarco; Martinez, Thuram

Bologna (4-2-3-1): Skorupski; De Silvestri, Beukema, Calafiori, Kristiansen; Aebischer, Freuler; Orsolini, Ferguson, Ndoye; Zirkzee

Trambak Bhattacherjee | GIFN