Stadio Renato Dall’Ara is the venue as Napoli and Bologna go head-to-head in Serie A’s top-six six-pointer on Sunday. With the worldwide break across the nook, victory is crucial for the house facet after a number of underwhelming performances.
Fatigue might be catching up with Bologna following a scoreless draw towards Norwegian outfit Brann in midweek Europa League motion. Vincenzo Italiano’s facet confirmed resilience and combating spirit to keep away from defeat regardless of shedding Charalampos Lykogiannis to a Twenty third-minute purple card.
It was Bologna’s second goalless stalemate in three matches, with the lone exception coming at Parma final weekend. Certainly, the Rossoblu overturned a first-minute deficit to beat the Crusaders 3-1 and climb to fifth within the desk, solely three factors adrift of fourth-placed Roma.
Visiting Napoli stay on the prime of the three, boasting a slender one-point lead over closest followers Inter and Milan. Nevertheless, the reigning champions’ kind doesn’t encourage a lot confidence. Certainly, the guests have delivered a blended bag of performances throughout their final six aggressive outings (W2, D2, L2).
Napoli threw their hopes of securing a spot within the Champions League knockout phases into additional doubt with a disheartening 0-0 residence draw towards Eintracht Frankfurt on Tuesday. The identical scoreline noticed the Partenopei get away with a degree towards Como final Saturday, with Alvaro Morata squandering a first-half penalty for Cesc Fabregas’ facet.
Match Preview
Bologna
Regardless of sharing the spoils in three of their final 4 Serie A fixtures (W1), Bologna have loved their joint-best ten-game begin to a top-flight season because the 2002/23 marketing campaign. Certainly, Italiano’s fees have accrued 18 factors to date this time period, largely due to their indomitable residence file.
Renato Dall’Ara has turn out to be a fortress once more, with the Rossoblu profitable three of their 4 residence league video games in 2025/26, apart from a tepid 0-0 draw towards Torino final day trip. Moreover, Bologna’s protection has been almost impregnable, conceding only one aim in these 4 matches, which stands in stark distinction to the seven they shipped on the highway.
It’s equally necessary to notice that Bologna have but to path at halftime in Serie A this season (HT: W3, D7). One other such begin would considerably enhance their hopes of avoiding defeat towards Napoli for the fifth time of their final six conferences (W1, D3, L1) and head into the worldwide break in excessive spirits.
Napoli
With 4 groups separated by a single level earlier than this spherical, Napoli can not afford extra slip-ups if they’re to enter the break because the pacesetters. Nevertheless, that would show simpler mentioned than achieved at Dall’Ara, the place they’ve drawn their final three league clashes towards Bologna after beforehand beating them twice in a row.
Napoli’s latest struggles in Emilia-Romagna are the least of Conte’s issues heading into this high-stakes encounter. Earlier than squeezing previous relegation-threatened Lecce on their final Serie A highway journey, Napoli had misplaced 4 consecutive away matches in all competitions, conceding a number of targets on three events.
Moreover, the guests have already misplaced as many away league video games this season (2) as they did in the complete 2024/25 marketing campaign. But, Napoli’s second-half performances can encourage Conte, together with his facet remaining the one Serie A staff but to lose a second half this season (W6, D4).
Crew Information
Bologna confronted Brann with out their talismanic winger Riccardo Orsolini, who will likely be at Italiano’s disposal tomorrow. Nevertheless, query marks are nonetheless hovering over the heads of Jens Odgaard and Juan Miranda. In the meantime, Kevin Bonifazi (coach’s resolution) and Remo Freuler (damage) stay on the sidelines.
As for Napoli, first-choice goalkeeper Alex Meret and Belgian star duo Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku are unavailable for choice. Rasmus Hojlund will, subsequently, lead the road in Lukaku’s absence, with David Neres anticipated to retain his beginning berth on the expense of Noa Lang.
Bologna vs Napoli Potential Beginning Line-ups
Bologna (4-2-3-1): Skorupski; Holm, Lucumi, Heggem, Miranda; Ferguson, Moro; Orsolini, Odgaard, Cambiaghi; Castro.
Napoli (4-3-3): Milinkovic-Savic; Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Buongiorno, Olivera; Anguissa, Lobotka, McTominay; Politano, Hojlund, Neres.
Bologna vs Napoli Prediction
Napoli had been fortunate to not lose to Como final week, however one other related efficiency could not go unpunished this time. Bologna’s formidable monitor file at Dall’Ara places them within the driver’s seat to capitalize on their guests’ disjointed kind as they chase their first residence win over Napoli since Might 2019.
Prediction: Bologna to Win
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