By OkayGoal 
AS Roma and Bologna go head-to-head in the UEFA Europa League knockout stages on Thursday, in the first leg of an all-Italian tie at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara.
Bologna vs AS Roma – Match preview and team news
- Date: Thursday, 12th March.
- Kick-off: 5:45pm BST.
- Venue: Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, Bologna.
Bologna team news
The Rossoblu’s main worries have centred around defensive options, with Juan Miranda and Torbjorn Heggem recently recovering from injuries.
Miranda had been dealing with a hip problem but has returned to training and is close to full match fitness. At the same time, Heggem has rejoined the squad after working individually for several weeks and could feature cautiously if required.
However, match sharpness remains a question, meaning players such as Jhon Lucumí and Martin Vitik are expected to continue in central defence.
Midfield leaders Remo Freuler and Lewis Ferguson are available and expected to anchor the side, while attacking responsibility should fall on Federico Bernardeschi and Santiago Castro, who have been regular starters in recent fixtures.
AS Roma team news
AS Roma travel to Bologna dealing with a significant injury crisis, particularly in attacking areas, which continues to limit manager Gian Piero Gasperini’s selection options.
The Giallorossi will be without several key forwards, including Paulo Dybala, Matias Soule, Artem Dovbyk, and Evan Ferguson, all of whom are ruled out through injury ahead of the Europa League encounter.
In addition to the injury absentees, central defender Gianluca Mancini is suspended, forcing Roma into defensive reshuffling for the tie.
With several senior attackers missing, Roma are expected to rely heavily on Donyell Malen and Bryan Zaragoza to provide an attacking threat.
Form
Bologna
Bologna arrive in solid recent form despite a minor setback last time out. They suffered a 2–1 Serie A defeat against Hellas Verona but had previously recorded consecutive victories over Pisa, Udinese and Torino, and also won against Brann in the Europa League both legs showing strong momentum in recent weeks.
AS Roma
AS Roma’s recent form has been inconsistent heading into this fixture. They played out an entertaining 3–3 draw against Juventus before slipping to a 2–1 away defeat against Genoa in their latest Serie A outing. Before that, Roma had secured convincing wins, including a 3–0 victory over Cremonese.
Predicted lineups
Bologna: Skorupski; Zortea, Lucumi, Vitik, Mario; Ferguson, Freuler, Moro; Bernardeschi, Castro, Rowe
AS Roma: Svilar; Ziolkowski, Ndicka, Ghilardi; Celik, Cristante, Kone, Wesley; Pisilli, Zaragoza; Malen
How to watch Bologna vs AS Roma?
The match will be shown live on TNT Sports 3 in the UK. You can also stream the game live via discovery+ (TNT Sports streaming platform).
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