Serie A | Gameweek 34

Apr 28, 2025 at 5.30pm UK

Dacia Arena

Udinese vs Bologna

Match preview

Bologna extended their three-goal lead in the second leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final with a 2-1 win on Thursday to set up a meeting with AC Milan next month.

Once again, Vincenzo Italiano's men overcame an Empoli side clearly distracted by their fight for survival, with Thijs Dallinga scoring his third goal of the match to seal the result.

Having already played in the Champions League this season, this could be a landmark campaign for the Emilia club, who are also on course to finish in the top four in Italy.

Last time out in the league, Riccardo Orsolini scored a dramatic scissor-kick in second-half stoppage time to condemn Inter to defeat at the Stadio Dall'Ara. The winger set a new personal goalscoring record for a Serie A season (12), while several others reached new heights under former Fiorentina boss Italiano.

By 2025 alone, Bologna would be second in the standings with 32 points, one ahead of Inter and two ahead of Napoli, and no team has scored more goals this calendar year (27).

However, with Juventus, Fiorentina and the two Roma clubs still in the hunt for Champions League qualification, the Bianconeri cannot afford to make any mistakes.

Having won just one of their last eight league games in Udine and failed to keep a clean sheet, the Rossoblu will be looking to break the precedent by picking up maximum points on Monday.

There have been seven draws in the last ten Serie A encounters between the two sides, with Udinese winning just once in that period, following a 1-1 draw in the reverse fixture earlier this season.

More recently, the Bianconeri have stumbled towards the end of a promising campaign, taking just one point from their last six games.

Kosta Runjaic's men are still safely in mid-table, but Wednesday's 2-0 defeat to Torino saw them slip behind their opponents in the race for a top-10 finish.

Five successive defeats have followed a six-match unbeaten run, and Udinese have been held to a goalless draw in each of their last two home games: 1-0 to Hellas Verona and 4-0 to Milan.

They may have little to play for now, having comfortably avoided a desperate relegation battle like last season, but the Friulians' fans will still be hoping for an increasingly rare win.

Recent Performance

Udinese Serie A form:DLLLLL

Bologna Serie A form:WWWDLW

Bologna form (all competitions):WWDLWW

Team News

Bologna made a number of changes to the team that faced Inter in midweek, and more changes are expected on Monday.

In particular, first-choice goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski is in contention for his first start since recovering from injury, while Davide Calabria and captain Lewis Ferguson are also fit. Only Emil Holm and Nicolo Casale remain sidelined.

Riccardo Orsolini, who is expected to partner either Santiago Castro or Thijs Dallinga up front, has already equalled his career high for goals in a Serie A season (15) and has scored three times against Udinese, including once in the reverse fixture this season.

Meanwhile, Udinese will be without their preferred front-line pairing, with top scorer Lorenzo Lucca (calf) and French striker Florian Thauvin (foot) currently on the treatment table.

In the 18 league matches in which they have started together, the Bianconeri have won 50% of their games and averaged 1.4 goals per game, while in the 15 matches in which they have not started at least one of them, their record has dropped to 13% and 0.7 goals per game.

Keinan Davis and Alexis Sanchez, both of whom have been plagued by injury this season, are among the attacking options available to Kosta Runjaic.

Jordan Zemura and Isaak Toure are also ruled out, while defensive linchpin Jaka Bijol is suspended.

Possible starting lineup

Udinese possible starting lineup:

Okoye; Ehizibue, Kristensen, Solet, Kamara; Atta, Lovric, Karlstrom, Ekkelenkamp; Bravo, Davis

Bologna possible starting lineup:

Skorupski; Calabria, Beukema, Lucumi, Lykogiannis; Freuler, Aebischer; Orsolini, Odgaard, Ndoye; Castro