TFT Issue 3345!

I’m expecting one hell of a battle here because Mihailjovic team hosting a southern team will almost certainly produce fire, and probably cards too. These two teams have gotten to where they are in Serie A this season by attempting to outwork their opponents, which has generally worked well. I suspect we’ll see a very energetic game in Italy tonight.

It’s hard to describe Mihailjovic’s work as progressive because he always seems about the same to be. As a short-term booster, he’s a great manager to have in charge. As time goes by though, it becomes more and more apparent that he doesn’t contribute enough in the long-term. It’s still tremendous fun to watch a Mihailjovic team play because they press hard, always want to attack with speed and flair, and always do their utmost to outscore their opponents. That approach saw them beat Parma away from home in their regional derby last time out too. There’s no consistency in this squad, though, which is ironically just like every other team from this general area of Italy; extremely entertaining, but not very consistent.

Still, the one thing you’re guaranteed in a Bologna game, with or without Mihailjovic, is a fight. They’ve always been battlers because, well, they’ve had to be, bearing in mind their financial problems of the past, and their relegation to Serie B. They’ve done things the hard way, Bologna, and those fighting traits have endured the test of time. Having the nutcase Serbian at the helm only enhances their ability to run themselves into the ground, if indeed it can be labelled as an ‘ability’. 

Bologna are seldom far away from goals, and I expect nothing different tonight because if you break through the Benevento resistance in midfield, you’ll generally not struggle to score goals. It’s their work-rate that stops most teams in their tracks, not their defending. Bologna aren’t going to shy away from that challenge though. This is the kind of team that has constant threats lurking in the channels too, meaning that they’re especially dangerous from turnovers, and that they can never be completely out of a match. 

You can praise Barrow if you want; he’s a real handful, although his finishing has taken a backseat since his loan move from Atalanta Bergamo became a permanent transfer. Palacio is an outstanding professional; to still be in the condition he is at thirty-nine speaks volumes about his dedication to the cause. Orsolini remains a phenomenal dribbler on his day but his diving does let him down. Soriano has been spectacular this season, and both Poli and Sansone are very capable players too. Despite that large list of capable players though, do you know who has impressed me the most for Bologna this season? Japanese full-back Tomiyasu. I think he’s got bags of potential. He’s as diligent in attack as he is in defence, very comfortable on the ball, and is naturally quick. I don’t like it when he’s forced to play at centre-back sometimes because it doesn’t suit him, but as a full-back he’s been excellent, and I can’t help but feel that he’s destined for bigger things. 

So – what are Benevento going to do to contain such an attack-minded team? That’s the real question here. On one hand, I think they’ll be delighted to be facing another team that is expected to beat them because Benevento are a counterattacking team. They’re not the best at converting chances in general so creating better chances by virtue of exploiting space in behind defenders tends to improve their conversion rate. That side of things is just peachy for the southerners because Bologna will come at them tonight. 

However, part of me thinks that they’ll also be dreading this game for a couple of reasons. Firstly, they’ve given absolutely everything for Filippo Inzaghi this season, and he’s had more than 200% out of them on a lot of occasions. They’re starting to look a tad weary to me though, which has led to effectiveness dropping. Bearing in mind that this is an average team at the best of times, that’s led to a run of games without a win. Benevento are the kind of team that always deserve more than they typically get from games, but they’re not going to survive relegation based purely on merit, so they need to find a solution.

The second problem is that Benevento are going to find it hard to rival Bologna for stamina and intensity. Usually, Benevento hold the high ground in such games but Bologna cover a lot of ground, and if that particular advantage is denied for the visitors, I struggle to envision them troubling this accomplished Bologna side. That’s especially true because winger Improta and experienced creator Ionita are out here, meaning it’s all about pressing forward Lapadula, classy but out-of-sorts Falque, clever Caprari, and maybe a touch of Finnish magic from Hetemaj. It’s not a lot for Bologna to worry about basically, not that they ever worry about anything defensively, fully confident in that they’ll concede in most games anyway!

Benevento are running low on things to utilise tonight that can upset Bologna, to put it bluntly. I’ve really enjoyed watching Benevento this season because they do attack teams well; it’s just that they’re not clinical enough. I would be very sad to see them go down. However, football is not a sympathetic sport, and Bologna need to survive too. The bottom line here is that Bologna have better players, and are more experienced at beating the drop. For me, particularly on the back of a dominant derby win, backing Bologna to pick up a much-needed three points at 4/5 is a risk worth taking.