Bologna vs Napoli Preview & Prediction | 2023-24 Italian Serie A
THE FACTS
Click here for today’s sports betting tips from our expert analysts!
When is Bologna vs Napoli on and what time does it start? Bologna vs Napoli will take place on Sunday 24th September, 2023 – 17:00 (UK)
Where can I get tickets for Bologna vs Napoli? Visit each club’s official website for the latest ticket information
What TV channel is Bologna vs Napoli on in the UK? TNT Sports have the rights to Serie A matches in the UK, so it is worth checking their schedule for Bologna vs Napoli
Where can I stream Bologna vs Napoli in the UK? If Bologna vs Napoli is televised on TNT Sports, then subscribers can stream the match live on discovery+
THE LOWDOWN
BOLOGNA
Last season, Bologna endured quite a bizarre and sad campaign. After the dismissal of the now late Sinisa Mihajlovic, Bologna leapt towards the top-half of the table and even flirted with the top seven and the UEFA Europa Conference League qualification spots, following the appointment of the innovative exciting Thiago Motta as their coach.
Despite the loss of some key players over the summer, such as Nicolas Dominguez to Nottingham Forest and Marko Arnautovic to Internazionale, Bologna have remained intent on being innovative. They have started steadily in terms of results with one win, two draws and just one defeat which came against AC Milan on the opening day.
NAPOLI
Over the summer, Napoli lost their manager Luciano Spalletti as well as key centre-back Kim Min-jae, who was sold to Bayern Munich. The Neapolitans won their third Serie A title ever last season and just their first outside of the Diego Maradona era. The appointment of former Roma boss Rudi Garcia led to a few concerns in Naples about how strong they would be this season.
They started with a comfortable defeat of newly-promoted Frosinone on the opening day before a win at home to Sassuolo. Since then, though, they have collected just one point from two matches against Lazio and Genoa before an unconvincing 2-1 win away to Braga in the opening match of their UEFA Champions League group stage campaign in midweek.
THE TEAM NEWS
BOLOGNA
Thiago Motta will have to deal with a couple of injuries for this weekend’s visit of the champions as both Alexis Saelemaekers and Adama Soumaoro are injured for this one.
PREDICTED XI (4-2-3-1): Skorupski; De Silvestri, Beukema, Lucumi, Kristiansen; Aebischer, Freuler; Ndoye, Ferguson, Karlsson; Zirkzee
UNAVAILABLE: Saelemaekers (Injured), Soumaoro (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE:
NAPOLI
Rudi Garcia is without defender Amir Rrahmani and back-up goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini is also an injury doubt for their trip north to Bologna.
PREDICTED XI (4-3-3): Meret; Di Lorenzo, Ostigard, Juan, Rui; Anguissa, Lobotka, Zielinski; Elmas, Osimhen, Kvaratskhelia
UNAVAILABLE: Rrahmani (Injured)
QUESTIONABLE: Gollini (Injured)
THE PREDICTION
This one would appear to be a foregone conclusion on paper as Bologna are a mid-table team and they take on the reigning Italian champions. The home team, though, will be seeking a top seven finish and potential UEFA Europa Conference League qualification this season with Motta in the dugout. They now take on a Napoli team that are in very unconvincing and fairly troubling form in the defence of their title. Given their home advantage, a double chance bet in favour of Bologna looks the way to go for this one.
TIP: DOUBLE CHANCE – BOLOGNA TO WIN OR DRAW
