Vincenzo Montella’s floundering AC Milan will look to get back to winning ways when they travel to the Stadio Renato Dall’ara to lock horns with Roberto Donadoni’s Bologna on Wednesday evening.

 

It was yet another under-whelming performance by Montella’s men on Sunday as they slumped to a disappointing 1-0 defeat at the hands of Marco Giampaolo’s Sampdoria; a Luis Muriel spot-kick in the second half was enough to send the port side home with all three points. That defeat has left Montella’s men winless in five games in all competitions and saw them remain glued to eighth position in the Serie A standings.

 

Bologna’s 7-1 thrashing at the hands of Maurizio Sarri’s Napoli on Saturday night, was a reality check for a side that is currently 13th in the table. Hat-tricks by Marek Hamsik and Dries Mertens and a Lorenzo Insigne strike led to the Rossoblu’s humiliation in front of their own fans.

 

Donadoni’s men have conceded 33 goals so far in Serie A this season, the eighth worst goals against count in the division. It’s against the bigger sides that they tend to ship goals with 10 coming against Napoli over two games and three each against Roma and Juventus respectively.

 

In the goalscoring department, Bologna happen to have the fifth worst record in Serie A and have scored more goals than only Crotone, Palermo, Pescara and Empoli. Their top marksman, former Milan man Mattia Destro and former Napoli midfield Blerim Dzemaili, have racked up five goals each.

 

Montella’s men, on the other hand, have let in the seventh least amount of goals in Serie A this season (27), more than only the likes of Lazio, Napoli, Juventus, Roma, Inter and the high-flying Atalanta. A solid defence had become a key part of the Rossoneri’s revival, but this has petered out in the recent games.

 

In terms of getting the goals, Milan do seem to lack a proper upgrade to the ageing Carlos Bacca, who apparently had a spat with Montella after being taken off against Samp on Sunday. The Colombian has racked up eight goals this season, the most for the San Siro based club, followed by Suso’s tally of five goals and seven assists. Milan’s second-choice striker Gianluca Lapadula has scored four times in 15 appearances but a majority of those goals came during Bacca’s absence earlier in the season.

 

Injuries are also a problem for the rossoneri ahead of this evening, as they will have to do without long-term absentees Giacomo Bonaventura and Mattia de Sciglio. Apart from them, Luca Antonelli will also be missing for Milan which forced Montella to having to play Juraj Kucka at right back against Sampdoria.

 

Former Inter Milan man Saphir Taider, who had returned to training before the loss to Napoli, is a doubt for the hosts, much like Swedish defender Filip Helander. He too, has returned to training but is once again likely to miss tonight’s encounter.

 

 

Bologna: Mirante; Torosidis, Gastaldello, Maietta, Masina; Taider, Viviani, Dzemaili; Verdi, Destro, Krejci

 

AC Milan: Donnarumma; Zapata, Paletta, Romagnoli, Calabria; Bertolacci, Locatelli, Pasalic; Suso, Bacca, Ocampos