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BOLOGNA

League position: 13th
Head coach: Sinisa Mihajlovic
Serie A top scorer: Marko Arnautovic (13)

RECENT FORM

ROMA: W W D L D
BOLOGNA: D W D D W

The Giallorossi earned a hard fought draw at Leicester in midweek as they split their two semi final legs of the Europa Conference League with the hosting of Bologna on Matchday 35 of the Serie A campaign.

They must make do without the suspended Sergio Oliveira, while the quick turnaround could see Jose Mourinho make further changes as Roma look to nail down a European spot for next season.

Bologna were also in action this week as they chalked up a 2-1 victory over Inter Milan to throw a major spanner in the Nerazzurri’s title defence.

That win stretched Bologna’s unbeaten league run to five games as Mihajlovic’s side - operating against Inter without their coach as he undergoes hospital treatment for leukaemia - look to end the season strongly, with the top half well within their reach.

Possible Bologna line-up

(3-5-2)

Skorupski; Theate, Soumaoro, Medel; De Silvestri, Svanberg, Soriano, Schouten, Hickey; Arnautovic, Barrow

LAST MEETING

DANGER MAN
Marko Arnautovic

Austria international Arnautovic has been central to Bologna’s recent upturn in form and was on target last time out in the win over Inter.

That took him to four goals in his last three league matches and 13 in Serie a for the season.

Strong, fiery, good in the air and on the deck, Arnautovic’s skill set will pose a number of challenges to the Roma defence.

Musa Barrow has been Arnautovic’s partner-in-crime for the majority of the campaign but Nicola Sansone’s back-to-back strikes off the bench in Bologna’s last two outings could see him start alongside the club’s top-scorer.

MATCH STATS

Roma have scored in 30 consecutive home games against Bologna in Serie A, which is just behind Inter vs Udinese (31 games between 1959 and 2010) and Juventus vs Fiorentina (34 games between 1983 and 2020) as the longest such streak in history.

The Giallorossi’s post-Europe record has been exceptional recently and, since November, Roma have registered four wins and two draws in their six Serie A outings after a Thursday UECL matchday.

Mourinho’s team have conceded the fewest goals (three) in the last 15 minutes of play in Italy’s top-flight this term - a collection that is four fewer than any other side.

Bologna have picked up the joint-fewest points away from home (three) in Serie A in the second half of the current campaign, thanks to a run of four defeats and three draws in their seven league trips during that period.

PLAYER STATS

• Tammy Abraham hasn't scored in his last four Serie A games, a run that marks his longest streak without a goal with the Giallorossi since October 2021 (six).
  
• Since February, only five players born after 1/1/2002 have made seven or more league starts, and just one has done so for one of Italy’s top seven: Nicola Zalewski.
  
• Marko Arnautovic has scored seven goals in his last eight Serie A appearances and Ciro Immobile (nine) is the only player to have scored more than Arnautovic (seven) since February.

WHAT THEY SAID

“Before the game, we told each other that we wanted to make our coach happy and fight for him. He was very proud, pleased and moved at the performance from his lads.”

- Bologna assistant coach Emilio De Leo on beating Inter for his boss Mihajlovic