Aiming to keep their pursuit of European qualification on track, Bologna welcome Monza to Stadio Dall'Ara for Serie A's Saturday night kickoff.
Two highly-rated coaches go head to head, as the Champions League-chasing Rossoblu host an away side seeking their first top-10 finish.
Match preview
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Having won eight of their previous nine league games, Bologna found themselves frustrated by lowly Frosinone last time out, as they were held to a goalless draw at Stadio Stirpe.
Thiago Motta's men now have just a three-point advantage over fifth-placed Roma, who were victorious in the Derby della Capitale and, over the final seven rounds, will rival the Rossoblu for Champions League football next season.
Of late, Motta has been linked with several vacancies around Europe, and his side have built their unexpected success on a formidable home record, posting 12 wins and just two losses from 16 league games at the Dall'Ara.
While Joshua Zirkzee and Riccardo Orsolini have both claimed headlines by reaching double figures in Serie A, Bologna's durability in defence has also played a major role in holding off Napoli, Lazio, Fiorentina and others.
The Emilian club have kept a league-high 10 clean sheets at their headquarters and are now aiming to record 11 shutouts on home turf for the first time since 1967.
Fittingly, their most recent meeting with Monza - September's reverse fixture - ended in a 0-0 draw; however, a repeat this week could harm the hosts' hopes of dining at Europe's top table.
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Targeting a top-half finish next month, Monza have quickly established themselves in the top tier of Italian football, following their first promotion to Serie A in 2022.
Early in their debut season, Raffaele Palladino was parachuted in from the Biancorossi's primavera to take the top job, and his progress since has been closely watched by clubs higher up the pecking order.
Two years Motta's junior, 39-year-old Palladino saw his team beaten 4-2 by Napoli last weekend, when they led through an early Milan Djuric goal for almost an hour before conceding four times in less than 15 minutes.
Monza still occupy 11th place in the standings - just one point behind Fiorentina and two shy of Torino - so such a setback may not prove fatal to their hopes of sneaking into the final top 10.
Having lost three of their last five matches, though, while uncharacteristically conceding an average of 2.2 goals per game, the Brianza-based club cannot afford many more slip-ups during a tough run of fixtures to finish the campaign.
Team News
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As Alexis Saelemaekers must serve a suspension, Dan Ndoye - who missed a golden chance to win last week's game against Frosinone - may be brought in to Bologna's starting XI on Saturday, though the Swiss winger faces competition from Kacper Urbanski.
While Adama Soumaoro and Jens Odgaard are still sidelined by injury, Dutch defender Sam Beukema has recovered from a muscular problem and will battle it out with Jhon Lucumi to start at centre-back.
Up front, Joshua Zirkzee (11 Serie A strikes this season) and Riccardo Orsolini (10) are the hosts' main threats; the latter has been directly involved in five goals in his last five league appearances at the Dall'Ara.
Meanwhile, Monza captain Matteo Pessina returns from a one-match ban this weekend, but veteran defender Luca Caldirola is now suspended, meaning Raffaele Palladino must make at least one change to his back line.
Elsewhere, Gianluca Caprari is yet to return from his serious knee injury, Samuele Vignato has an adductor problem and fellow forward Dany Mota is struggling with a sprained ankle.
Valentin Carboni and Daniel Maldini are therefore fighting it out to join Milan Djuric and top scorer Andrea Colpani in the final third.
Bologna possible starting lineup:
Skorupski; Posch, Lucumi, Calafiori, Kristiansen; Freuler; Orsolini, Ferguson, Fabbian, Ndoye; Zirkzee
Monza possible starting lineup:
Di Gregorio; Izzo, Mari, A. Carboni; Birindelli, Pessina, Gagliardini, Zerbin; Colpani, Maldini; Djuric
We say: Bologna 1-0 Monza
These teams could not be split when they met back in September, and both are well organised by an up-and-coming coach.
It could be another close contest, then, with Bologna's ability to get the job done on home soil proving the difference.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Jonathan O'Shea
