Will the Veltri take the lead in the Italian duel?

Although Bologna FC lost one game less than AS Roma in the Europa League group stage, the Veltri (meaning “greyhounds”) finished tenth in the final table, one point behind the Giallorossi. The Rossoblù had to take a detour via the playoffs, where they beat Brann Bergen twice without conceding a goal.

Now it’s time for an all-Italian duel. Our Bologna vs. AS Roma prediction is significantly influenced by the fact that both teams have very stable defenses and will probably not go all out in the first leg.

The capital club conceded five goals in their last two Serie A games against Juventus (3-3) and Genoa (1-2). However, with only 21 goals conceded, the Wolves still have the second-best defense in Serie A. The Veltri, on the other hand, also botched their dress rehearsal with a 1-2 home defeat to Hellas Verona on Sunday. However, the Emiliani won all five of their previous competitive games, celebrating four clean sheet victories and conceding only one goal in total during that period. Because only one goal was scored in the Serie A clash between the two teams in the 2025/26 season – AS Roma won 1-0 at home – we recommend betting on under 2.5 goals in this Italian Europa League clash between Bologna and AS Roma.

We expect the visitors in particular to park the bus in their own penalty area at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara. Under Gian Piero Gasperini, who once celebrated such thrilling attacking football with one-on-one play across the entire pitch with Atalanta Bergamo, the Wolves primarily waited for moments to switch play. However, playing in front of their home crowd, the Rossoblù are certainly not going to run into the open knife. The odds for a tough start to the game are therefore interesting in Bologna vs. AS Roma.

Bologna – AS Roma Head-to-head comparison / H2H record

Head to head: 56 – 50 – 58

A total of 164 matches have taken place between the two teams, and Bologna FC has recently made up some ground, so that the head-to-head record is almost completely even. AS Roma are still ahead with only two wins, having won the last Serie A meeting on August 23, 2025, 1-0, but before that they had gone five games without a win against the Emiliani (two draws, three defeats).

Bologna – AS Roma Tip

We can’t quite understand why the betting odds from the top bookmakers for Bologna vs. AS Roma are leaning towards the visitors from the Eternal City. After all, the Veltri have lost only one of their last six competitive games against the Giallorossi (three wins, two draws) and are also unbeaten in nine Europa League games (six draws, three defeats). Both teams also botched their dress rehearsal at the weekend, each suffering a 1-2 defeat. Prior to that, however, the Emiliani had won five competitive games in a row, keeping four clean sheets. The home side are therefore in slightly better form at the moment.

Nevertheless, the Giallorossi have already collected twelve points more than the Veltri in league play, which is also due to the fact that Gasperini’s team has the second-best defense in Serie A, conceding only 21 goals in 28 league games. Accordingly, the prediction is for a first leg that will not be too high-scoring, which could well be a tough game given that both teams are very solid defensively. Betano is offering odds of 1.60 for under 2.5 goals, which we are betting on with six out of ten units.