After a thrilling 3-1 comeback win against AC Milan at San Siro, Liverpool will be looking to keep the momentum going. Christian Pulisic gave Milan an early lead, but Liverpool quickly turned things around with Ibrahima Konaté and Virgil van Dijk taking advantage of poor set-piece defending.
Dominik Szoboszlai sealed the win in the second half, marking the start of a four-game winning streak for Liverpool under Arne Slot. Their recent victories include a 5-1 EFL Cup triumph over West Ham and hard-fought Premier League wins against Bournemouth and Wolverhampton. A Mohamed Salah penalty against Wolves put Liverpool at the top of the Premier League, benefiting from Manchester City's draw with Newcastle.
In Europe, Liverpool have been dominant at Anfield, winning their last 10 group-stage games and scoring at least twice in nine of them. They'll look to extend this impressive run against Bologna, who are back in the Champions League after a 60-year absence.
Bologna, now managed by Vincenzo Italiano, played out a goalless draw with Shakhtar Donetsk in their first group match. Italiano, who guided Fiorentina to multiple finals, has faced challenges with Bologna this season, particularly after the departures of key players Joshua Zirkzee and Riccardo Calafiori.
The team has struggled for wins, with just one victory in seven games, and currently sits 13th in Serie A. Their latest result was a 1-1 draw with Atalanta, where they came close to winning despite playing much of the second half with 10 men.
As Bologna head to Anfield for their first-ever meeting with six-time European champions Liverpool, they’ll be hoping to pull off a surprise, but they face an uphill battle against a team in top form.
INJURIES & SUSPENSION
Liverpool didn’t come away from their weekend match at Molineux without issues, as Andy Robertson limped off after a tough tackle from Carlos Forbs. However, manager Arne Slot doesn’t believe the Scottish left-back’s injury is serious.Slot is also optimistic about the availability of Darwin Núñez, who was ill, and Diogo Jota, who’s been dealing with a foot problem. Federico Chiesa, however, remains a major doubt with a new injury concern, and Harvey Elliott is confirmed to miss out due to a foot injury.
Mohamed Salah, fresh off scoring the winning penalty at the weekend, could make history by becoming the first Liverpool player to score in five consecutive Champions League or European Cup matches at Anfield.
On the Bologna side, defender Jhon Lucumí, who was sent off in their weekend draw with Atalanta, will still be available for Wednesday’s game. However, there’s a question mark over striker Santiago Castro, who had to be substituted in their last outing. Bologna is already missing Lewis Ferguson, who’s out with an ACL injury, along with midfielders Tommaso Pobega and Oussama El Azzouzi, both recovering from knee issues.
If Castro is unavailable, summer signing Thijs Dallinga, who joined from Toulouse, is expected to lead the attack, though he’s yet to make a direct impact in his first five games for the club.
POSSIBLE LINE-UPS
Liverpool possible starting lineup:Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Konate, Tsimikas; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Nunez
Bologna possible starting lineup:
Skorupski; Posch, Beukema, Lucumi, Lykogiannis; Aebischer, Moro, Freuler; Orsolini, Dallinga, Ndoye
EXPERT PREDICTION
Liverpool 3-1 Bologna
Without the attacking and defensive strength they had under Thiago Motta, Bologna is expected to struggle, and Liverpool should have little trouble cruising to another dominant European win.
