Bologna anticipate the visit of Hellas Verona on Saturday, with the Felsinei in crisis after a winless run stretching back to the end of November.

Their opponents, meanwhile, enjoyed success against Serie A's basement boys Crotone last time out - making it two wins from three since the turn of the year for Ivan Juric's side.

Match preview

Though they dominated possession at Stadio Luigi Ferraris last weekend, Bologna were again ineffective up front as fellow strugglers Genoa were the latest side to take three points off Sinisa Mihajlovic's failing outfit, who sit 13th - just five points above the relegation zone.

The Rossoblu are now without a win in their last eight Serie A games and chairman Joey Saputo has come under fire from fans, with a banner being unveiled outside Stadio Dall'Ara last month demanding that he restructure the playing staff before the stadium, which is set to be developed in the coming months.

Bologna have since announced the signing of French centre-back Adama Soumaoro on loan from Lille, but it is in attack that Mihajlovic so sorely needs reinforcements.

Perhaps an indicator of their desperation, his team have attempted the most shots from outside the box in Serie A this season (with 33) - incidentally, pragmatic opponents Verona have attempted the fewest (11).

Veteran forward Rodrigo Palacio has been left to carry the fight as a lone striker and has just one league goal so far. Among players that have scored in the top flight this term, the hardworking ex-Inter man has Serie A's worst goals-per-minute ratio of a goal every 1434 minutes played.

Amid such a crisis of confidence, Bologna can take some solace from the fact that they have won twice and drawn on the other two occasions in their last four meetings with Verona. Their last defeat at home to the Gialloblu was in 2016, but it will be a stiff challenge to keep that record going on Saturday afternoon.

Verona have earned a reputation for solidity this season and their latest success against Crotone again came by the narrow margin of a single goal.

Comfortably inside the top half of the table in terms of points, Ivan Juric's 9th-placed side have the joint-best defensive record in the league alongside Napoli and Juventus - with only 16 goals conceded in 17 rounds.

Aiding their offensive efforts, summer signing Nikola Kalinic has finally returned to full fitness since the turn of the year and the ex-Atletico Madrid man netted the early opener for Hellas at the Bentegodi last Sunday, by running onto an excellent Antonin Barak assist.

The improving former Udinese creator has now been involved in more goals in 2020-21 (four in total, with three goals and an assist in 14 appearances) than in the entirety of last season - split between his time in Udine and at Lecce.

Contributions from that talented attacking pair could hold the key to any sustained challenge for a European spot come the end of the season, with a win in Bologna required to stay on the coat-tails of the clubs above.

Bologna Serie A form: DDDDDL

Hellas Verona Serie A form: LDLWDW

Team News

Ivan Juric has Marco Benassi, Ronaldo Vieira, Andrea Favilli and Miguel Veloso unavailable, with Darko Lazovic also doubtful for Saturday's game.

Centre-back Federico Ceccherini is in contention to play after suffering a knock against Crotone but would be replaced by Pawel Dawidowicz if necessary.

Talented pair Antonin Barak and in-demand Mattia Zaccagni should start as co-creators behind solo striker Nikola Kalinic.

Bologna have supposed Milan target Mattias Svanberg back in midfield after serving a suspension last week and he is likely to be paired with Jerdy Schouten in the engine room. Gary Medel and Ibrahima Mbaye remain out through injury, though.

Musa Barrow, though relatively unproductive this term, is pushing for a return in place of young Emanuel Vignato, behind overworked lone striker Rodrigo Palacio.

In defence, full-back Lorenzo De Silvestri has recovered sufficiently to make the bench, but goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski's comeback has been delayed, so Angelo Da Costa continues as the last line of defence.

Bologna possible starting lineup:
Da Costa; Tomiyasu, Paz, Danilo, Dijks; Schouten, Svanberg; Orsolini, Soriano, Barrow; Palacio

Hellas Verona possible starting lineup:
Silvestri; Lovato, Magnani, Ceccherini; Faraoni, Ilic, Tameze, Dimarco; Barak, Zaccagni; Kalinic

We say: Bologna 0-1 Hellas Verona

Rarely giving much away at the back, Verona are capable of keeping an ineffective Bologna front line at bay, while hitting the net through one of their gifted attacking trident.

With the Felsenei in danger of extending a seriously worrying run, thoughts of a potential relegation battle should not be too far from Rossoblu minds.

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