Bologna-Genoa is a match valid for the nineteenth day of Serie A and is played on Friday at 20:45: lineups, predictions, TV and streaming.
A setback that cost them fourth place – now the Felsinei are fifth in the standings, +2 on Atalanta and +3 on the top-ranked Roma and Napoli – but that does not erase the good things done so far by Thiago Motta’s men, the great revelation of this championship. The Italian-Brazilian coach makes no dramas, convinced that his team still has several margins for improvement and that, above all, it can have its say in the fight for a place in Europe. Whether the debacle against Udinese was merely an accident of the road will be understood by the first 2024 engagement of Zirkzee and his teammates, who at the “Dall’Ara” will host Genoa, a club that has left its mark on Motta’s career, both as a player and as a coach. Alberto Gilardino’s Grifone – who in turn wore the Bologna jersey in the 2012-13 season – is back from the precious draw against Inter, another big that had to reckon with the Marassi effect: two weeks earlier it was also Juve’s turn, also stopped at 1-1 by the Ligurians. Three useful results in a row for a Genoa side that keeps a good distance from the relegation zone, 6 points away.
Bologna-Genoa: the latest lineup news
Motta must do without his captain Ferguson, who is disqualified: no small absence for the Scot. A switch from 4-2-3-1 to 4-3-3 is a foregone conclusion at this point, with Urbanski in the direction between Freuler and Aebischer and Orsolini in the offensive trident along with Saelemaekers and Zirkzee. Soumaoro, Karlsson and Ndoye are unavailable.
In Genoa, the main doubt concerns the presence of Retegui. The Italian-Argentine striker is trying hard to recover and go to recompose the pair with Gudmundsson. Should he fail to make it, Ekuban is ready. In the middle, a ballot between Strootman and Malinovskyi.
The prediction
The first half of the season told us that facing Genoa away from home is not the same, since it is at Marassi that the Rossoblù collected most of their points. Gilardino’s side remains an organized and very solid team, capable of making the opponent on duty play badly, but Bologna in front of its own public this year has almost never made a mistake. And the desire to redeem the false step in Udine is quite a lot. Felsinei favorites in a match that may not reserve great spectacle.
The probable lineups of Bologna-Genoa
BOLOGNA (4-3-3): Skorupski; Posch, Beukema, Calafiori, Kristiansen; Urbanski, Freuler, Aebischer; Orsolini, Zirkzee, Saelemaekers.
GENOA (3-5-2): Martinez; De Winter, Bani, Dragusin; Sabelli, Frendrup, Badelj, Malinovskyi, Vasquez; Gudmundsson, Retegui.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-0