Milan vs Bologna: Preview
We present the predictions for the Milan vs Bologna match in the ninth round of Serie A 2026/27.
In the ninth round of Serie A, the team that is trying not to lose the advantage of the leader "Milan" will try not to lose points against the defensive "Bologna".
Key moments
Milan
1. "Milan" is in fourth place, but can lose points for nothing
After eight rounds, "Milan" has 18 points and occupies fourth place, staying four points behind the leader "Inter". After the 0-3 loss to "Bournemouth" in the Champions League, the Milanese recovered in front of their fans and beat "Udinese" away — 2-0. Cristian Pulischich opened the score in the sixth minute, and Omari Hattinson cemented the advantage in the second half. Before that, Ruben Amorim's men beat "Atalanta" 3-2 and "Red Bull Salzburg" 4-0, but surprisingly lost points in the match against "Sassuolo" — 1-1.
2. The full dressing room forces Amorim to rely more on the newcomers
Ruben Amorim still does not have many players. Central defender Matteo Gabbia remains injured, Alexis Saleman is also recovering from surgery. Samuel Chukwueze, who was added to the injury list last week, is also unavailable. However, the new players in the squad are taking advantage of their opportunities — winger Omari Hattinson and defender Sankhya Diavara started in the lineup against "Udinese". Given the tight schedule, Amorim will have to keep looking for rotation opportunities and use his closest reserves.
3. Did Diavara solve Amorim's defensive problems?
One of the pleasant surprises of the match against "Udinese" was defender Sankhya Diavara. The player who joined from French club "Toulouse" in the second division last summer, his match last round was not only his first appearance in the starting lineup of "Milan", but also his first in Serie A. The debut was very successful: Amorim was very satisfied with Diavara's performance, highlighting that the central defender "seemed to have played with the team for ten years". It is also notable that Diavara played in a rather unusual position for him on the flank, which only underscores the confidence in his play.
Bologna
1. "Bologna" has started to win points more regularly, but is still not stable enough
"Bologna" won last weekend against "Cagliari" 2-0. This is an important reaction to the home loss 1-3 against "Inter". Before that, Raffaele Palladino's team beat "Lecco" 2-1, drew with "Torino" 1-1 and lost 0-1 to "Napoli". The match against "Cagliari" should also have added confidence to "rossoblu", but although the poor start of the season was left behind, "Bologna"'s stability is still to come.
2. "Bologna" still lacks the main striker Piccoli
After the match against "Inter", "Bologna" added problems in the offensive line. Roberto Piccoli injured his right hip and recovery will take at least three or four weeks, meaning the main striker of "rossoblu" will be unavailable in the upcoming matches. Against "Cagliari", the attacking position was taken by Jens Edger, but the nominal attacking midfielder was not very effective. In addition, winger Riccardo Orsolini and defender Emil Holm also remain out of the game.
3. "Bologna" concedes relatively few goals, and in the last round managed to keep a clean sheet
In the match against "Cagliari", Raffaele Palladino's men managed for the first time in the season to keep the goal intact, winning 2-0. Overall, "rossoblu" concedes relatively few goals — 10 after eight rounds is a good indicator (even "Inter" leader conceded the same amount). In the last five matches, "Bologna" only once conceded more than one goal per game — just in the match against "Nardizuri", whom they also managed to score against (1-3). The first "clean sheet" of the season should have added confidence to the team's defense before facing another elite club.
Approximate lineups
3-4-2-13-4-316Menyan13Diavara31Pavlovich5de Winter33Bartezagi80Musa30Yashari23Tomori11Pulischich20Hattinson9Ramush1Skorupsky36Darmian16Kasalé3Theate19Ferguson4Pobega20Zortea33Miranda10Bernardeski28Cambiaagi21Odger
Betting on the trend
In four of the last six matches between "Milan" and "Bologna", at least one of the two teams did not score. Bet: OZ — not 1.87.
In four of the last five matches between "Milan" and "Bologna" in Serie A, at least three goals were scored. Bet: TB 2.5 for 1.87.
Forecast
Milan vs Bologna 28.10.2026 21:30
"Milan" quickly recovered from the loss to "Bournemouth" (0-3) and on weekends beat "Udinese". Squad problems remain significant: Gabbia, Saleman, Chukwueze and other players are still unavailable. However, the newcomers Hattinson and Diavara have taken advantage of their opportunities successfully and can help the team again.
"Bologna" is slowly recovering from the crisis and after Saturday's win against "Cagliari" will try to keep accumulating points, although the stability of Raffaele Palladino's team is still missing: in the last five matches they won two, drew and lost two.
The serious problem will be the absence of striker Piccoli, injured in the match against "Inter". "rossoblu"'s defense looks quite reliable: the team conceded ten goals in eight rounds and in the previous match played a clean sheet for the first time in the season.
"Milan" seems the favorite, but "Bologna"'s organized defense can make the task difficult for the home side.
Forecast: 1-0
