Bologna vs Hellas Verona – News and Probable Lineups

After clinching five consecutive victories in all competitions, Bologna aims to extend their winning streak as they face Hellas Verona on Sunday.

Following their win against 19th-placed Pisa on Monday, the Rossoblu will return to Stadio Dall’Ara for a clash with Serie A’s bottom-placed team.

Match overview

Bologna had a rough finish to 2025 and begun the new year in a similar manner, yet they have recently turned things around, rejuvenating their struggling season.

After securing a place in the Europa League’s round of 16 by defeating SK Brann 1-0 at home and away, Vincenzo Italiano’s squad celebrated their third successive Serie A win on Monday night.

With the second half entering stoppage time, a remarkable strike from Jens Odgaard ensured maximum points against Pisa, marking five consecutive victories for the Emilian team.

Importantly, Bologna has maintained a clean sheet in their last four fixtures, halting a trend of conceding easily during their challenging period.

Nevertheless, last season’s Coppa Italia champions are unlikely to find a domestic return path to Europe, positioning the Europa League as their primary goal.

Before facing their compatriots Roma in the round of 16— with the home fixture set for next Thursday— they must confront another team within the Serie A relegation zone.

Heading into Sunday’s fixture, Bologna has triumphed in their last two league encounters against Verona— although both were at Stadio Bentegodi— winning four of their last five clashes.

However, Verona did secure a win during their latest visit to Dall’Ara, achieving a 3-2 victory in December 2024.

That outcome ultimately aided them in remaining in Italy’s top league for an additional season, but the Gialloblu could be facing demotion to Serie B within weeks.

Last weekend, a last-minute goal from Romelu Lukaku cruelly dashed Verona’s hopes as they fell to a 2-1 loss at home to the reigning champions Napoli, extending their winless streak in the league to 12 matches.

Currently positioned at the bottom of the table with just 15 points, they are nine points away from safety with 11 games left to play.

Having last tasted victory at the close of 2025, the appointment of Paolo Sammarco as interim head coach has yielded little change, with only one point gained from his four matches thus far.

Prior to traveling to Emilia-Romagna, Verona holds the joint-worst away performance in Serie A this season— along with fellow relegation contenders Pisa— accumulating only eight points and securing just one win so far.

The paltry eight goals netted in 14 away games further indicates they will struggle to overcome Bologna.

Team News

Italiano is still without first-choice left-back Juan Miranda due to injury, but Charalampos Lykogiannis has returned to full training and can compete with Nadir Zortea and Joao Mario for a starting spot.

The latter was taken off against Pisa due to a minor knee issue, so he may join Miranda, Torbjorn Heggem, and Thijs Dallinga on the treatment table, while Remo Freuler is serving a suspension.

Santiago Castro and Riccardo Orsolini are Bologna’s joint-leading scorers, each with seven Serie A goals, followed closely by Odgaard with five; all three found the net in the reverse fixture last January.

However, that marked Orsolini’s only goal in his last 12 league appearances, prompting Federico Bernardeschi to be favored on the right flank recently.

Verona’s top scorer is Gift Orban, who has netted seven times in his first Serie A season, and he returns after completing a two-match suspension.

Libyan midfielder Al-Musrati is also back from suspension, but Sammarco has a lengthy injury list to contend with.

Suat Serdar, Antoine Bernede, Tobias Slotsager, Armel Bella-Kotchap, and Pol Lirola are all sidelined; Sandi Lovric and Rafik Belghali remain questionable.

Bologna probable starting XI:

Skorupski; De Silvestri, Lucumi, Casale, Zortea; Ferguson, Moro, Sohm; Bernardeschi, Castro, Rowe

Hellas Verona probable starting XI:

Montipo; Edmundsson, Nelson, Valentini; Oyegoke, Harroui, Gagliardini, Akpa-Akpro, Bradaric; Bowie, Orban

While Bologna continues to build momentum as the season reaches a pivotal stage, the struggling Verona appear to be heading towards relegation.

Even though the hosts might keep an eye on next week’s Europa League match, they are expected to secure the win on their home ground.