Bologna travels to nearby Sassuolo on Sunday afternoon for a crucial Serie A Emilian derby, just days after drawing the first leg of their Europa League tie and with a decisive return leg looming.

Derby Day Stakes

Bologna drew 1-1 with Roma on Thursday in their Europa League tie, and now they're heading to Sassuolo with a packed schedule. The draw keeps things tight before the return leg in Rome, but Bologna can't afford to slip up domestically—a loss could drop them below Sassuolo in the table.

A win would push Sassuolo up to eighth and past Bologna. Sassuolo's turned it around at home lately—three wins in their last four games after a rough patch of just one win in seven. They lost to Lazio on Monday, but Grosso's team is sitting pretty in mid-table with no relegation worries after coming up from Serie B last summer.

The history between these two tells you something about the rivalry. Sassuolo's only won one of their last eight derbies against Bologna—that was back in May 2022. They drew 1-1 when these teams met in December. At home, Sassuolo's only beaten Bologna twice in 10 league meetings, so even with their recent form, this won't be easy.

Bologna's Balancing Act

Italiano's got a headache: he needs to juggle the Europa League while trying to fix Bologna's erratic league form. Bologna's hit 11 league losses already this year—three more than they had all of last season—after things went sideways in November.

Bologna had won five straight across all competitions before facing Verona last week. But they blew it against Verona, losing their fifth of the last eight league games. That inconsistency worries Italiano—his team won the Coppa Italia last year but now they're fighting just to stay in Europe for a third straight season. One bad result and they could tumble to 10th if things break the wrong way elsewhere.

Bernardeschi scored a brilliant opener and Vitik hit the bar, but Bologna couldn't finish it off—the match ended 1-1. The draw leaves everything up in the air, and now Bologna's got to manage their squad carefully for Sunday.

Team News and Lineup Speculation

Expect Bologna to make changes to manage the European workload. Captain Lewis Ferguson is out with suspension—a big loss in midfield. Moro will step in for him. Italiano might try Sohm or Odgaard on the wing, but Odgaard's last attempt there against Verona was a disaster.

Heggem and Miranda are back in the fold after Roma, and Heggem could start at center-back to give Lucumi a breather. Zortea should be back on the right. On the left, it's either Miranda (though he'll miss Rome) or Lykogiannis. Orsolini's definitely playing up front after being rested from the cup. Dallinga might get a chance to rest Castro, who's tied with Orsolini at seven league goals. Cambiaghi and Dominguez are fighting for the left-wing spot.

Grosso gets Pinamonti back from suspension to lead the line with Berardi and Laurientè. Matic should start after Lipani played in Rome. Garcia (signed in January) and Doig are battling for the left-back spot, while Coulibaly and Walukiewicz will fight for the right.

Bologna's stretched thin between Europe and the league, and Sassuolo smell blood at home—this derby could shake up both teams' seasons.