Coppa Italia: AC Milan vs Bologna - Betting Tips, Odds & Prediction

AC Milan and Bologna square off in a fascinating Coppa Italia final at Stadio Olimpico on Thursday morning, with history and silverware on the line.

The two sides met just days ago in the Serie A, with Milan prevailing in a convincing 3-1 victory. However, Bologna broke their drought against their rivals earlier this February, and will be eager to return to winning ways against Milan.

Who prevails and lifts the Coppa Italia for the first time in well over two decades? Read on for our breakdown of this match, including the best football tips from top betting sites.

AC Milan

AC Milan are a team on the rise. For the first time in 12 months, they have won four matches in a row, beating Inter, Venezia, Genoa and Bologna over the past three weeks.

However, they still sit eighth on the Serie A ladder and have had some serious consistency issues this season. Winning the Coppa Italia would go a long way to smoothing over those discrepancies, and they’ll take confidence from their path in the tournament so far.

Most recently, Milan thrashed Inter 3-0 to win the semi-finals 4-1 on aggregate and book their spot in the final. Carry over that kind of form, and they’ll be well placed to hoist the trophy on Thursday. 

Team News: Youssouf Fofana and Fikayo Tomori return from injury while Rafael Leao is back from suspension. Warren Bondo and Riccardo Sottil remain sidelined.

Predicted Lineup: Maignan; Tomori, Gabbia, Pavlovic; Jimenez, Fofana, Reijnders, Hernandez; Pulisic, Leao; Jovic.

Bologna

Bologna are not where they want to be right now. While Milan are on the upswing, Bologna are headed in the wrong direction.

Since beating league-leaders Inter then seeing off Empoli in the Coppa Italia semi-finals in late April, Bologna have had a tough run. A nil-all draw against 12th-placed Udinese was followed by a 1-1 draw with Juventus, before a 3-1 thrashing at the hands of Milan.

This has left Bologna outside the top six in the Serie A, and lacking any momentum whatsoever heading into Thursday’s game. Win, and they’ll boost themselves back into contention; lose, and it’s a continuation of the trend we’ve seen over the past three weeks.

Team News: Santiago Castro is still struggling with a foot issue and is unlikely to be available. Emil Holm returns from a layoff and will be available for selection at right back.

Predicted Lineup: Skorupski; Calabria, Beukema, Lucumi, Miranda; Freuler, Ferguson; Orsolini, Odgaard, Dominguez; Dallinga.

• AC Milan beat Bologna 3-1 on May 10.
• AC Milan leads the head-to-head between the two sides since 2010 by 19-2 with seven draws.
• Bologna’s 2-1 win earlier this year was their first over AC Milan since 2016.
• The last three fixtures between these teams have featured three or more goals.

It’s hard to see anything other than an AC Milan victory here. They come into this fixture riding a recent wave of form, fresh with the confidence of beating Bologna just days ago. 

Plus, there’s an established trend when these two teams meet over the past decade and a half: AC Milan win. While they haven’t won the Coppa Italia since 2003, for Bologna it’s been even longer - since 1974 - which just adds more pressure.

Form and confidence matter on a big stage like this, so we expect Milan to get the job done and claim the Coppa Italia on Thursday. With odds of $2.55 across football betting sites, we like the price.

Santiago Gimenez First Scorer- $5.50

Speaking of momentum, Santiago Gimenez was a game-changer when he entered the match for AC Milan against Bologna on the weekend. The Mexican scored twice in the second half, taking Milan from 0-1 down to a decisive 3-1 victory with the help of Christian Pulisic.

We’re confident Gimenez will find the net again on Thursday, and the odds of him doing so first are excellent, with Bet365 returning $5.50.