Bologna-Napoli is a Serie A Week 37 match to be played on Sunday at 15:00: odds, predictions, TV and streaming.
After beating Cremonese by five goals and officially putting an end to the grigiorossi’s salvation dreams, Bologna are hunting for a prestigious victory against newly crowned Italian champions Napoli. For the Azzurri, still in the midst of the Scudetto celebration, it will be the last away match of the season before the grand finale against Sampdoria, which will coincide with the official awards ceremony and the presentation of the cup.
Between the two, in short, the one who is still fighting for something concrete is undoubtedly Thiago Motta’s team, which has just returned to success after six matches without a win. The Felsinei will try to finish eighth, which could even be worth Europe if Juventus incur further penalties, but the fight is as fierce as ever. Monza, Fiorentina, Torino and Udinese, the other four teams dreaming of finishing the season on the left side of the table, also have the same aims as Bologna. That would be an important goal for the Emilian club. Which made the leap in quality precisely at the same time as the arrival of the Italo-Brazilian coach, who had already shown himself a year ago on the bench of Spezia. In September, in fact, Bologna seemed destined for another anonymous year, with the sole objective of salvation. And instead, the red and blue, despite the ups and downs, have taken several satisfactions, making themselves indigestible several times to the big league.
Bologna unbeaten at home with the big ones
With the exception of Atalanta, none of the top seven have managed to conquer the ‘Dall’Ara’ stadium. Neither the Milanese, nor Juve, nor even the two Romans.
Samson
Motta is aiming to avoid defeat with a Napoli side that, after the celebrations for a tricolour return under Vesuvius 33 years after the last time, is trying to keep the attention threshold high, despite the fact that right now the debate is already on the near future. The news of the non-renewal of Luciano Spalletti, one of the main architects of the Scudetto ride, has disturbed – and not a little – the serenity of the environment: there is still no official announcement, but the Tuscan coach has already hinted that he will not stay in Naples. The reason for the divorce would be a fundamental incompatibility with president De Laurentiis, who is already moving to find a replacement. The ‘Spanish’ track is currently the most beaten track, since there is talk of a possible return of Benitez or Luis Enrique. The Neapolitans, meanwhile, returned to winning ways last Sunday, archiving the defeat at Monza, and they did so against an Inter side (3-1) full of reserves and distracted by the Coppa Italia final.
Bologna-Napoli: the latest line-up news
Bologna are without Orsolini, while Soriano, Soumaoro and Kyriakopoulos are absent through injury. It will be Aebischer’s turn to play as the high right outside player in Thiago Motta’s 4-2-3-1, supporting the only forward Arnautovic together with Ferguson and Barrow. Schouten and Dominguez should play in the middle, with Moro ready to take over.
Spalletti, on the other hand, could continue with the experiments. In defence, Ostigard, who is in a duel with Rrahmani, will ask for space, while in goal Gollini is slightly favoured over Meret. With Lozano (injured) and Elmas (disqualified) absent, we will see Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia back in attack, flanked in the trident by Politano, the latter being threatened by Gaetano.
The Prediction
Bologna have not beaten Napoli at the ‘Dall’Ara’ since 2019 and have always lost in their last five confrontations with the Azzurri. The Rossoblù, however, together with Inter are the team that has conceded the fewest goals in front of their own public. Which is why Spalletti’s men, who have seen their goalscoring average plummet since the Scudetto mathematics arrived, may find it difficult to take away the three points. It is not out of the question that the Felsinei avoid defeat in a game with at least one goal on each side.
Bologna v Napoli: likely line-ups
- BOLOGNA (4-2-3-1): Skorupski; Posch, Bonifazi, Lucumì, Cambiaso; Schouten, Dominguez; Aebischer, Ferguson, Barrow; Arnautovic.
- NAPOLI (4-3-3): Gollini; Bereszynski, Rrahmani, Kim, Olivera; Zambo Anguissa, Lobotka, Zielinski; Politano, Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-1
