Serie A: AC Milan are Turning it Around Under Fonseca

Bologna vs AC Milan

Paulo Fonseca didn’t have the greatest of starts in his Serie A comeback with AC Milan, and at one point, his head coaching job was in jeopardy. But to his credit, he has turned jeers into cheers, as the Rossoneri are now in a much better shape.

Since they’ve won four of their last five league games, AC Milan have improved to fourth place in the standings, only trailing by five points behind league leaders Napoli, and a win against Bologna on Saturday could see them go up to as high as second place.

Bologna are currently out of form because they haven’t won in a while. As a result, Vincenzo Italiano’s side is the 12^th seed with nine points.

Can the Rossoblu break out of their slump or will the Rossoneri continue to roll? Read more below for the SBOTOP preview of this contest.

 

Talking Points

Important returns for Bologna

Bologna dropped their second consecutive Champions League match against Aston Villa, which was expected, but there were some positives to take away from last night.

Dan Ndoye, Jhon Lucumi, and Samuel Iling-Junior all returned on the pitch, with Ndoye and Lucumi named in the starting lineup. Lukasz Skorupski also started after he was benched in their 2-2 draw against Genoa.

Lewis Ferguson is also fighting his way back, as he has been unavailable for quite some time due to a torn ACL. According to reports, the attacking midfielder plans to make his return to football in early November, with the game against AC Milan being the best-case scenario.

With all that said, head coach Vincenzo Italiano could make several tweaks in his starting XI, including Santiago Castro, who could be in line for another start.

Castro leads Bologna in scoring with three goals, but he hasn’t found the back of the net since their 1-1 draw against Atalanta last September. The Argentinian international will likely be joined by Riccardo Orsolini and Dan Ndoye up front.

 

Pulisic leads AC Milan’s rejuvenated attack

AC Milan have regained their bearings under Paulo Fonseca, largely because of Christian Pulisic’s upturn in form. The former Chelsea man is firing on all cylinders lately and leads the Rossoneri in scoring, with seven goals and three assists across all competitions.

Pulisic sparked AC Milan’s 3-1 win over Club Brugge yesterday in the Champions League. He scored the first goal of the match during the 34^th minute, as his corner kick sailed into the net, even if he didn’t intend for it to happen.

Other than Pulisic, Fonseca is receiving praise for his bold decision-making. In the same game against Club Brugge, he showed he’s not afraid to shake up his lineup, as he subbed off an out-of-form Rafael Leao and Ruben Loftus-Cheek in favour of Noah Okafor and Samuel Chukwueze, and the two super subs assisted Tijjani Reijnders’ two goals.

Another sub, Francesco Camarda, also found the back of the Rossoneri. However, the goal was ruled out by the VAR, denying the 16-year-old a chance to make history.

 

History

AC Milan have had Bologna’s number as of late, as they are undefeated in their last 17 Serie A meetings (W13, D4) since a 1-0 loss in January 2016 at San Siro. This is the Rossoneri’s longest active unbeaten streak against any current Italian top-flight opponent.

However, Bologna avoided defeat in their most recent Serie A clash with AC Milan (2-2 in January), as Riccardo Orsolini scored the equaliser in added time to secure the point.

Bologna haven’t won any of their last 18 Serie A games versus AC Milan (D5, L13) at the Renato Dall’Ara Stadium, with their last such victory being a 2-0 result in March 2002.

AC Milan have won only one of their first four away games in Serie A this season (D1, L2). The last time they only won one of their first five away games in a campaign was in 2018-19.

 

Betting Tip

The Serie A 2024 odds back the visitors to take all three points, but their margin for error is surprisingly smaller. AC Milan are priced to win at 2.08, but Bologna aren’t far behind at 3.14, and a draw is at 3.30 in the 1X2 market.

Other than going for an AC Milan victory, football fans will get their fair share of Serie A 2024 highlights from this contest, making alternatives like Total Goal 2-3 at 2.01, Over 2.50 at 1.76, and Over 2.75 2.03 viable.

Meanwhile, the Correct Score of 2-2 – the result of their most recent encounter – has a generous offer of 13.00.

   

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