Roma-Bologna could become a “happy football match” after such news
It was a sensational week for the Wolves, who progressed in the EL and even had a great chance of qualifying for the CL.
It must have felt good to be a Roma fan last week, as the good news for the Wolves came in a row. So early on Monday evening, Dybala’s side can look forward with optimism to the league’s surprise team, Bologna, who can also look forward to a bit of a revival. Well, let’s look at these facts and see what can be won in the other match of the round, besides the Milan derby.
As you know, Roma’s last league match against Udinese was abandoned after the 70th minute. Evan Ndicka was struggling to breathe, but it seems that the scare may have been greater as the Ivorian celebrated his EL qualification with the rest of the team on Thursday. It remains to be seen when the 24-year-old full-back will be available for action again, but in any case, as he did not have heart problems, he is unlikely to go the way of Christian Eriksen and leave Italy.
The second piece of good news is Roma’s progression against Milan, and the elimination of Liverpool means that the favourites for the series have also been eliminated, although the Wolves will face the almost unbeatable Leverkusen in the last four. There is reason to be hopeful, though.
De Rossi fans can also rejoice, as the coach has extended his contract, which expires at the end of the season, which is no surprise. DDR is very happy in the eternal city and this has earned him a new contract.
And then we can add to the cheers, as the sensational performance of the Italians means that 5th place is now a CL qualification, which could be a great relief for Bologna. Even though Atalanta and Lazio both won in the round, the situation is still encouraging.
Roma are now 4 and Bologna 5 points ahead of 6th position in the BL battle, at least in terms of points lost.
But if we look at things a little more closely, the eternal city is not yet at all on the back foot. With Bologna, Napoli and Juventus next up, and Bergamo in round 36, there’s plenty of room for a turnaround. The easiest match of the near future is today, and De Rossi’s side have to win it.
And this Bologna may well be beaten now. While it is true that Thiago Motta’s boys are having a brutal season and that they have not scored in their last four games, 0-0 against Frosinone and Monza is a less good result. And Bologna’s draw is not that easy, and if Atalanta get a new lease of life, even from here, they could miss out on a BL start. So the mood can certainly be positive, but the stakes are not small when you dig deep into the table.
For the visitors, Lewis Ferguson’s injury is a problem and he will miss the European Championship, while Azmoun is not available for the home team, besides the aforementioned Ndicka.
Free picks for Roma-Bologna
In any case, we don’t expect many goals, so our picks are going in that direction. On the one hand, Bologna’s defence has been league-leading this season, only Inter have scored fewer goals than them, and on the other hand, Roma’s attacking play is not legendary. Moreover, in the last 6 games between the two teams, a total of 5 goals have been scored without an away goal since 2020. We wouldn’t be surprised to see a 0-0 or 1-0 scoreline now.