Liverpool host Bologna in the Champions League on Wednesday night as the Reds look to continue a strong start under Arne Slot.
The Merseysiders are aiming for a fifth consecutive win in all competitions and to build on an impressive 3-1 win at AC Milan in their Champions League opener.
Here is everything you need to know about the clash.
Liverpool vs Bologna – Match preview and team news
Form
Liverpool: LWWWW
It’s been an almost flawless start to life in the Premier League for Arne Slot. The Dutchman has won seven of his eight games across all competitions with only a shock setback at home to Nottingham Forest blemishing that record.
Liverpool moved top of the Premier League at the weekend after a 2-1 win at Wolves, above Manchester City who dropped points at Newcastle earlier in the day. Mohamed Salah scored the winner at Molineux from the spot for his fourth league goal of the campaign and the Egyptian has started the season in fine form. He has four goals and four assists from six league appearances for the Reds in 2024/25.
Champions League action returns to Anfield 🤩🔴#WalkOn | #UCL pic.twitter.com/y2b2T3UKhj
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) October 2, 2024
Slot will hope Liverpool can rediscover the solidity of their early-season form. After starting the season with three consecutive clean sheets, the Reds have just one shutout in their last five games.
Bologna: DDDWD
After the high of last season’s shock Champions League qualification, Bologna have found things tougher this time around. Head coach Thiago Motta departed for Juventus, while Joshua Zirkzee and Riccardo Calafiori headed to the Premier League in summer transfers.
Motta’s replacement, Vincenzo Italiano, has had a mixed start with I Rossoblù who sit 13th in Serie A after just one win from their opening six games. However, the 46-year-old has experience in European competition after leading Fiorentina to the Europa Conference League final in 2023 and 2024. La Viola lost on both occasions, to West Ham and Olympiacos respectively.
An iconic venue 🏟️#UCL #WeAreOne pic.twitter.com/qwKn0FzwF4
— Bologna FC 1909 (@BolognaFC1909en) October 1, 2024
Bologna signed Thijs Dallinga from Toulouse in a €15m deal in the summer and the Dutch forward has failed to score in five appearances to date. However, the 24-year-old did score home and away against Liverpool in last season’s Europa League. England u-21 international Samuel Iling-Junior could feature for the visitors after joining on loan from Aston Villa.
Last Meeting
This will be the first competitive meeting between the teams.
Predicted Lineups
Liverpool: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Tsimikas; Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Jone; Salah, Gakpo, Nunez.
Bologna: Skorupski; Posch, Beukema, Lucumi, Lykogiannis; Aebischer, Moro, Freuler; Orsolini, Dallinga, Ndoye.
Who is the referee?
Nikola Dabanović (Montenegro)
What channel is Liverpool vs Bologna on?
Liverpool vs Bologna will be shown on TNT Sports 2 in the UK.
What time is kick-off?
Kick-off at Anfield is 20:00 BST.
Odds
Liverpool – 2/11
Draw – 7/1
Bologna – 12/1
Read – Five talking points ahead of the Champions League action
See more – The top speeds reached by Premier League players so far this season
