We’re in for a special evening at the Renato Dall’Ara on Wednesday as Bologna take part in their first Champions League fixture since 1964.
Thiago Motta was responsible for guiding the Serie A club back into the big time following a fifth-place finish last season, but Juventus swooped for the former midfielder in the summer and several of the players responsible for Bologna’s idiosyncratic brilliance have also moved on.
Riccardo Calafiori and Joshua Zirkzee are among those who opted for pastures new after enjoying excellent campaigns under Motta.
The summer turnover has facilitated a slow start to 2024/25 under former Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Italiano. Bologna sit 17th in Serie A after rescuing a point against Como on Sunday.
Shakhtar Donetsk are much more familiar with this competition but have rarely progressed into the knockout stages. Outside of their games against Bayern Munich and Arsenal, their league phase doesn’t appear too daunting on paper, and they may well fancy their chances of at least securing a play-off berth. The Ukrainians have endured a mixed start to their domestic campaign, though, losing two of their opening five games.
Here’s 90min’s preview of Wednesday’s Champions League clash.
Bologna vs Shakhtar Donetsk H2H Record
This is the first meeting between Bologna and Shakhtar Donetsk.
Current form (all competitions)
| Bologna | Shakhtar Donetsk |
|---|---|
| Como 2-2 Bologna – 09/14/24 | Shakhtar Donetsk 5-2 Karpaty Lviv – 09/14/24 |
| Bologna 1-1 Empoli – 08/31/24 | Oleksandriya 4-3 Shakhtar Donetsk – 08/24/24 |
| Napoli 3-0 Bologna – 08/25/24 | Livyi Bereh 0-1 Shakhtar Donetsk – 08/18/24 |
| Bologna 1-1 Udinese – 08/18/24 | Shakhtar Donetsk 0-1 Polissya Zhytomyr – 08/11/24 |
| Mallorca 1-1 Bologna – 10/08/24 | Vorskla 0-5 Shakhtar Donetsk – 04/08/24 |
| Country | TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | discovery+, discovery+ App, tabii, TNT Sports 4 |
| United States | Paramount+, fuboTV, TUDN.com, Univision NOW, TUDN App, ViX, CBS Sports Golazo, TUDN USA, UniMás |
| Canada | DAZN |
Bologna’s slow start to the season can also be attributed to the absence of standout midfielder Lewis Ferguson in addition to their list of key departures over the summer.
Ferguson is out of action until the end of the year with a knee ligament injury. The hosts are also without Oussama El Azzouzi on Wednesday due to a less serious knee issue.
Dan Ndoye, Samuel Iling-Junior, and Jhon Lucumi are all pushing for starts after appearing off the bench in Como at the weekend.
Bologna predicted lineup vs Shakhtar (4-1-4-1): Skorupsky; Posch, Beukema, Lucumi, Miranda; Freuler; Orsolini, Aebischer, Pobega, Iling-Junior; Dallinga.
The visitors only have one known absentee for their Champions League opener, with Tymur Puzankov still out of action with a long-term knee injury.
Shakhtar’s convincing domestic victory at the weekend could persuade Marino Pusic to continue with a similar starting XI for Wednesday’s clash in Bologna. Midfielder Artem Bondarenko heads into the contest having scored a hat-trick on Saturday.
Shakhtar predicted lineup vs Bologna (4-3-3): Riznyk; Tobias, Bondar, Franjic, Pedrinho; Kryskiv, Bondarenko, Subakov; Zubkov, Sikan, Kevin.
Neither side has started the season particularly well, with busy summers bringing about plenty of change.
It will be a unique atmosphere in the Dall’Ara on Wednesday for Bologna’s first Champions League outing in 60 years, and Italiano will want his team to match the crowd’s ferocity. The visitors will be forced to weather an early storm, but they’re a seasoned outfit in this competition and they will grow into the game.
Bologna will be desperate to score a victory on home soil, but the Wily Shakhtar could do enough in the second half to escape with a result.
