Napoli vs Bologna prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2022-10-15 16:00.
On a night when manager Luciano Spalletti was “swept along by the atmosphere” at a sold-out Stadio Maradona, a thumping 4-2 victory against Ajax helped Napoli qualify for the UEFA Champions League knockout stages with two matches to spare for the first time in their history. Further etching themselves into the record books, that result formed part of a club-record nine-game winning streak which is the longest victorious run Napoli have ever put together in a single campaign!
The high-flying hosts are now red-hot favourites to extend a five-game winning league run here, although boss Spalletti insists he wants his side “to keep improving.” With an average of 2.44 scored goals per game, Napoli’s attack is one of the best in Serie A (SA) this season, but the home side can certainly tighten up defensively having kept just one clean sheet across their last six SA games. The visit of Bologna perhaps comes at an ideal time then as Napoli have won each of their last four SA H2Hs, three of those with accompanying clean sheets.
Visiting manager Thiago Motta arrested his side’s two-match goal drought with a 1-1 home draw against Sampdoria last time out and may point to his personal away record at Napoli to raise spirits of springing a surprise in Naples. Motta managed sides have kept clean sheets across his last two visits here (W1, D1), although emulating that feat against this free-scoring Napoli side may be a tough ask!
Securing a shut-out looks an even bigger challenge when considering Bologna’s away league record this season, conceding at least two goals in each road trip so far (D1, L3). Barring drastic improvements, Bologna’s worst nine-game start (W1, D4, L4) to a SA campaign since 2015/16 looks set to get worse, and to add insult to injury they could be dragged into the bottom-three by the end of this matchday.
Players to watch: Napoli’s Matteo Politano has contributed to goals in each of his last three SA games (G2, A1) but has never scored against Bologna in 11 prior top-flight matches. Meanwhile, Bologna’s Nicolás DomĂnguez scored against Sampdoria to end a 54-game SA scoring drought but he has never netted in consecutive top-flight games.
Hot stat: Bologna have squandered 11 points from leading positions in SA this season (W1, D4, L1).