Milan take on Bologna, a rematch of their matchday 1 opponent, an opponent who has been better than most expected but have come back down to earth a little bit the last couple of months. Milan is at home but will need to be ready for a dog fight.
MATCHDAY:
LAST FIVE
MILAN: WWLWW
BOLOGNA: LDDLW
FORMATIONS
MILAN (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Hernández, Gabbia, Kjær, Calabria (C); Reijnders, Adli; Leão, Loftus-Cheek, Pulisic; Giroud
BOLOGNA (4-2-3-1): Skorupski; Kristiansen, Calafiori, Beukema, De Silvestri; Ferguson (C), Freuler; Urbanski, Fabbian, Aebischer; Zirkzee
TIME/LOCATION
TIME: 2:45pm EST/7:45pm GMT
PLACE: San Siro, Milano
WHERE TO WATCH:
Paramount+ and FuboTV here in the US of Aye and Canada, BeIn for our Aussie pals, ESPNPlay for our fellas in T&T, JioTV for our Indian leoni, and illegal streams that support dictators and oligarchs everywhere.
*Let us know if this needs updating*
WHAT TO WATCH FOR:
Bologna come in having only won one of their last 5, which has coincided with their brief stay in 4th, which if you follow us regularly know Michael Lisi has been tracking how poorly being 4th has been for those teams occupying the spot.
Bologna are a stingy team, only giving up 18 goals all season to this point, which places them as 3rd best in the league. This has them fighting for a European spot and has all season. The thing that might keep them out? Scoring. They’ve only scored 23 goals in 20 games, which is tied for the 8th worst scoring offense in the league.
They do have threats such as Zirkzee, Orsolini, and Ferguson – player I REALLY like. In their first matchday, Ferguson had Calabria in his pocket for most of that match and if there’s one thing I’m worried about, this would be it. He was basically their only threat that day, which makes Bologna’s decision to move him from his usual role as a CM or one of the double-pivot over to RW very interesting. Something to watch for sure.
Milan come in with the same lineup as last time, including Adli getting another start. I would probably prefer Musah next to Reijnders but with Bologna’s stingy defense and somewhat toothless offense, I’m ok with the more offensively-minded approach Pioli is taking.
I know I sound like a broken record but I want to see Leão staying wide, Theo out there with him and making overlapping runs, which in turn will open up opportunities for Giroud, Pulisic, RLC, and others making themselves available in and near the 18 yard box. You know those beautiful RLC goals the last few games? They’ve come from Leão’s wide position and cutting it back across to the trailing player. As for the last time out these two played, Giroud got on the board early and Pulisic had a laser for his first Milan goal from just outside of the box in the 2-0 win.
Lisi says: parlay a Milan win and over 1.5. I like another RLC goal.
Milan is rested and starting about as strong a lineup as they can. I like their chances today to take all 3 points…
Forza Milan
gillis