It’s no mystery that Bologna has been planning, for some years now, to try to write another “fairy tale” like Atalanta, inspired by the far-sighted project of the Goddess, who in the space of a decade transformed herself from a provincial team aiming for safety to a big team that has even managed to triumph in Europe and is now feared by all.
After having obtained a historic qualification for the Champions League, the Emiliani are also demonstrating that they want to continue to be ambitious, trying to return to Europe – even the “minor” one would be welcome – despite the painful summer transfers and the loss of their leader Thiago Motta.
Vincenzo Italiano, who arrived in the summer to general skepticism, is succeeding in the difficult task of not making people miss his illustrious predecessor and after twenty-two match days the team from Bologna are there, with full merit, in the large group of teams fighting for a European place (with one match still to play). Last Saturday, Fabbian and De Silvestri gave Italiano another three points in the match against Como (2-0), the seventh consecutive useful result in the league and cup. The Coppa Italia, as things stand, is no longer a “nuisance” but has become an intriguing possibility: after all, Italiano has never snubbed this competition, almost always reaching the final when he was at Fiorentina (in 2023 he played in the final against Inter).
Atalanta are making slow progress
In the quarter finals Bologna will face Atalanta, last year’s finalists, in a one-off match. La Dea are coming off the disappointing draw at the Gewiss Stadium with Torino (1-1) and the only matches won in 2025 by the Nerazzurri remain those with Sturm Graz in the Champions League and in the league against Como.
Perhaps Gian Piero Gasperini’s team is taking a breather after a couple of months in which they have been going at full speed. They are now playing every three days and it is not easy to recharge the batteries straight away: This is probably one of the reasons why the club has been one of the most active on the market – selling Zaniolo and buying Maldini – also doing business with Bologna (in the last few days the Rossoblù have sold full-back Posch to Dea, replacing him with former Milan player Calabria) to make up for the serious injuries of defenders Scalvini and Kossounou.
Both won their previous matches hands down: in December, Bologna scored four goals against Monza (4-0), while Atalanta scored 6 against a Serie B team, Cesena (6-1).
Odds comparison
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The prediction
In the last four previous matches, Bologna has been a real taboo for Atalanta, who haven’t beaten them for over two years (January 2023). Considering the lackluster form of the Dea, it is not to be excluded that the Rossoblù will manage to avoid defeat in regular time (in the event of a draw, it goes directly to penalties) in a match in which both should find the way to score at least once.
The probable line-ups for Atalanta-Bologna
ATALANTA (3-4-1-2): Rui Patricio; Toloi, Hien, Djimsiti; Bellanova, de Roon, Pasalic, Ruggeri; Samardzic; Retegui, De Ketelaere.
BOLOGNA (4-2-3-1): Skorupski; Holm, Beukema, Lucumì, Lykogiannis; Freuler, Moro; Ndoye, Odgaard, Dominguez; Castro.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-1
