Monza vs Bologna prediction: ITALY: Serie A betting tips on match 2022-10-30 19:45.
Preparations for this contest have been massively overshadowed by the shocking news that Monza defender Pablo Mari was stabbed on Friday in a supermarket attack in Milan. The 29-year-old, on loan from Arsenal, immediately had successful surgery on his back and is thought to be stable, yet the terrible incident and impact it had on his teammates prompted Monza officials to request that this clash be postponed.
As the contest still looks set to go ahead, Monza’s players will have to find the strength to regroup as they look to try and avoid a third successive Serie A (SA) defeat. Despite the disappointing nature of their two most recent results, they finished the last round four points clear of the drop zone and can be proud of their efforts so far in their debut top-flight campaign (W3, D1, L7). The SA newcomers are also unbeaten against any side starting this round in the bottom eight (W2, D1), which seems a good omen as they welcome 13th-placed Bologna.
The visitors (W2, D4, L5) are already five points worse off than what they were at this stage of last season, but will be eager to see this fixture go ahead as they look to build momentum on the back of a crucial 2-0 home win over Lecce last week. That victory not only ended a four-game winless SA run, but also handed them just their first clean sheet of the season too, highlighting the defensive issues that have plagued Bologna’s season so far.
Given all that’s gone on, many might be backing Bologna to secure successive wins for the first time this season, yet historically they’ve often found it tough going away to newly-promoted sides. Their last win against such an opponent came in March 2021 (D1, L2) and considering only Spezia (zero) have picked up fewer SA away league points than Bologna (one) coming into the round, there’s no guarantee that run will end here.
Key battle: Monza defender Stefano Sensi is enjoying a strong individual season and only one SA player can boast to have won more tackles (19) after 11 rounds. Aiming to get the better of him, Bologna’s Marko Arnautović has scored in five of his seven SA games against newly promoted sides, including in each of his three away fixtures.
Hot stat: Monza could become the first SA debutant to win three successive home games since Frosinone in October 2015.