Twitter-AS Roma
Roma and Bologna will be taking on one another for their 23rd game in Serie A. Paulo Fonseca’s side is currently fifth in the Italian league with 39 points on board and is on level terms with fourth-placed Atalanta. In terms of recent results, Roma had to endure a 4-2 defeat to Sassuolo in spite pf Dezeko and Veretout getting on the scoresheet. Bologna F.C. on the other end is 11th in the league with 30 points and have bagged two wins on the bounce versus Bologna and Brescia. With momentum on their side, it will be interesting to see if Bologna is able to make it three out of three on Saturday.
Match Details
Date- Saturday, February 8
Kick-Off- 1:15 AM (IST)
Venue- Stadio Olimpico
Roma
Lorenzo Pellegrini being sent off against Sassuolo will serve as a massive blow for the hosts as he misses out against Bologna. Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Amadou Diawara, Nicolo Zaniolo, David Zappacosta and Devid Bouah are ruled out due to injuries. With Pellegrini suspended, Gregorie Defrel might get to start in midfield, with Veretout and Cristante to fill in at central midfield. Edin Dzeko is expected to lead the attack. Spinazzola, Smalling, Mancini and Magnanelli could fit in at defence.
Bologna
Andrea Poli, Nicola Sansone and Mattia Bani are undergoing suspension, while, Federico Javier Santander, Gary Medel and Mitchell Dijks are on the sidelines due to injury. Having mentioned that Sinisa Mihajlovic should persist with a similar eleven. Orsolini, Soriano and Sansone should feature in the advanced role with Palacio likely to lead the attack upfront.
ROM (Expected Playing 11)- P Lopez; F Magnanelli; G Mancini, C Smalling, L Spinazzola; J Veretout, B Cristante; C Under, G Defrel, J Kluivert; E Dzeko
BOG (Expected Playing 11)- L Skorupski; I Mbaye, M Bani, Danilo, S Denswil; A Poli, J Schouten; R Orsolini, R Soriano, N Sansone; R Palacio
Edin Dzeko has been vital in the final third for Roma. The veteran centre-forward has 10 goals, three assists and a pass accuracy of 70% from 1892 minutes in the Serie A this season.
Ricardo Orsolini has been one of the standouts for Bologna. Orsolini has six goals, four assists and a pass accuracy of 70% from 22 appearances this season.
Aleksandar Kolarov has been one of the top players for Roma in defence as well as while going forward. Kolarov has five goals, two assists and a pass accuracy of 82.7% from 1747 minutes in the league this season.
Rodrigo Palacio has five goals, three assists and a pass accuracy of 77.2% for Bologna from the 21 games in the league this season.
From the last six meetings between the two sides, it’s Roma who has the upper hand with four wins in contrast to Bologna’s solitary win. One game has ended on level terms during that period.
Roma are the favourites heading into the game in front of home support.
Goalkeeper- L Sokrupski
Defenders-A Kolarov (VC), S Dneswil, C Smalling, L Spiazzola
Midfielders- R Orsolini, C Under, R Soriano, J Veretout
Forwards- R Palacio, E Dzeko (C)
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