Inter Milan make the trip to Bologna on Sunday looking to strengthen their hold of second place in the Serie A standings.

At a time when the visitors sit 15 points adrift of leaders Napoli, Bologna occupy eighth spot after a strong run of form since the turn of the year.

With Napoli having dropped just seven points all season, the remainder of Serie A are currently powerless to stop them from winning the title, leaving the other expected contenders to battle for runners-up.

As it stands, Inter look best placed to finish in second spot, Simone Inzaghi’s team collecting 10 points from their last four matches to move clear of their rivals.

Although a recent goalless draw at Sampdoria came as a disappointment, Inter responded with a 3-1 victory over Udinese, Romelu Lukaku making a long-awaited return to the scoresheet albeit from the penalty spot.

Only Serie A (SA) leaders Napoli have earned more points than eighth-placed Bologna over the last six league matches (W4, D1, L1) before this round, with hopes of European action for the first time in more than two decades soaring. A seventh-place finish could earn a European ticket depending on cup results, and Thiago Motta’s men have added to the suspense by keeping their fans waiting, with three of their last four league wins coming via a narrow 2-1 scoreline.

There’s still room for improvement, as Bologna have won only one of their last four home matches (D1, L2), and the arrival of Inter Milan will bring back memories of the heavy 6-1 loss they suffered in this season’s reverse fixture. A win here would avenge that loss, making it consecutive home SA H2H wins for the first time in this century having won 2-1 here last season.

Inter left it late to defeat Porto 1-0 in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday to make it six matches unbeaten in all competitions (W5, D1). The Nerazzurri have very little chance of catching runaway SA leaders Napoli, but can at least keep up the pressure with a victory which would also land just a second league H2H double in seven seasons.

There’s more reason to aim for victory as a top-four finish is not yet a guarantee, but Inter will need to improve on a patchy run of away form which has seen them win just two of their last five league games on the road (W2, D2, L1). However after a goalless draw in their last away match, the visitors now run the risk of consecutive away league scoring blanks for the first time since April 2018, although they have only failed to score in an away league H2H just once in this century!

Key battle: Stefan Posch has been scoring key goals for Bologna, with his four league goals all coming in wins, three ending 2-1. His primary task could, however, be to stop Inter’s Romelu Lukaku, who scored the winner against Porto and has netted in each of his four previous SA H2Hs.

Hot stat: Seven of Inter’s 16 match openers this league campaign have come within the first 15 minutes.

Bologna Serie A form:

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Bologna form (all competitions):

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Inter Milan Serie A form:

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Inter Milan form (all competitions):

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Bologna possible starting lineup:

Skorupski; Cambiaso, Lucumi, Sosa, Kyriakopoulos; Schouten, Dominguez; Orsolini, Ferguson, Soriano; Barrow

Inter Milan possible starting lineup:

Onana; Skriniar, Acerbi, Bastoni; Dumfries, Barella, Calhanoglu, Brozovic; Dimarco; Lukaku, Martinez

Despite the difference in league positions, this has all the makings of being one of the more competitive fixtures in Serie A this weekend. Nevertheless, although we feel that Bologna will push their more illustrious opponents for much of the encounter, the visitors’ extra quality could shine through during the latter stages.