Preview: Bologna vs Red Bull Salzburg - prediction, team news, lineups

Aiming to strengthen their grip on a Europa League playoff place, Bologna will welcome Red Bull Salzburg to Stadio Dall'Ara on Thursday.

After battling for a draw in their most recent European outing, the Italian side lead their Austrian counterparts by two points in the league table.

Match preview

Since losing to Aston Villa for a second straight year, when they were beaten in Birmingham on the first matchday, Bologna have steadily inched towards their target of reaching the knockout phase.

After drawing 1-1 at home to Freiburg, the Rossoblu went on to beat FCSB in Romania, before salvaging something from their matchday three fixture despite being reduced to 10 men.

Charalampos Lykogiannis was sent off midway through the first half of a 0-0 home draw against SK Brann, but Bologna were still able to pick up another point, leaving them 24th in the table.

That is the final playoff position, with the bottom 12 teams to be eliminated, so there will be little room for error across their final four matches.

Vincenzo Italiano's men come into this week's clash in fine form, having recently beaten Napoli and Udinese while scoring five times without reply; as a result, their undefeated streak across all competitions stands at 11 games.

Sitting fifth in Serie A - just three points off the summit - Bologna are again mounting a challenge for the Champions League places, after lifting the Coppa Italia last season.

While the hosts have lost just one of their last seven European matches, Salzburg have already been beaten three times in this season's Europa League.

Before heading to Emilia-Romagna on Thursday, Die Roten Bullen are also winless across seven visits to Italy, since beating Lazio back in 2009.

Still, they are in with a shout of reaching the last 32, having finally posted their first continental victory of the campaign in early November.

Thomas Letsch saw his side beat Go Ahead Eagles 2-0 on home turf, as Yorbe Vertessen and Aleksa Terzic both scored in the second half - a huge relief, following three straight defeats.

Three points place them 28th as things stand - in line to be eliminated - so they must now try to end a truly dismal run of results on the road.

Though Salzburg currently sit top of the Austrian Bundesliga, they have lost each of their last six Europa League away matches, conceding at least twice every time.

Bologna Europa League form:

L D W D

Bologna form (all competitions):

D D W D W W

Red Bull Salzburg Europa League form:

L L L W

Red Bull Salzburg form (all competitions):

W W W W D L

Team News

As ever, Italiano is expected to rotate his squad significantly between fixtures, so Thijs Dallinga, Jhon Lucumi and others could come into the hosts' starting XI on Thursday.

Veteran defender Lorenzo De Silvestri - who was omitted from the club's UEFA squad list - will make way, while Lykogiannis must serve a suspension for his first-half dismissal against Brann.

Jonathan Rowe, Remo Freuler, Ciro Immobile and first-choice goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski are all sidelined; Nicolo Cambiaghi and Emil Holm both sustained injuries on international duty but may now be fit for the bench.

Meanwhile, Salzburg are missing Christian Zawieschitzky, Takumu Kawamura, John Mellberg and Karim Onisiwo; Ivorian forward Karim Konate recently resumed full training.

In the latter's absence, teenage winger Edmund Baidoo has posted a goal contribution in six of his last eight matches, while Belgian forward Vertessen has found the net twice in this term's Europa League campaign.

Bologna possible starting lineup:

Ravaglia; Holm, Lucumi, Vitik, Miranda; Ferguson, Pobega; Bernardeschi, Odgaard, Dominguez; Dallinga

Red Bull Salzburg possible starting lineup:

Schlager; Lainer, Schuster, Rasmussen, Terzic; Kjaergaard, Diabate, Yeo; Baidoo, Vertessen, Alajbegovic

We say: Bologna 2-0 Red Bull Salzburg

With momentum on their side, Bologna should see off Salzburg and make it a dozen games without defeat.

The Rossoblu are full of confidence, while Die Roten Bullen have picked up just one point from their last two league matches; so a home win is the likeliest outcome.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.